We were heading towards Milford Sound in New Zealand, a place where rain is so abundant, that on some days, it rains more than 537 mm. Although I was looking forward to discovering the beauty associated with this rain, I sure did miss the sunshine!

As we were driving along Hwy 94, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. To my left were fields full of millions of lupines in full bloom, right along the creek! The mountains were visible in the distance, and despite the rain that continued to spill onto our windshield, I started to smile. Lupines are good at brightening a rainy day. At least for me!

We didn’t realize at the time that lupines grow abundantly all over New Zealand. In fact, the locals call them “nasty weeds”. All I knew was that they sure worked to beautify the surroundings!

I made a discovery then. I realized that my passion for exploration is not so much to discover new lands, but rather, to discover the depth and breadth of God’s amazing love. No matter where I go, I discover His presence. Although sin abounds everywhere, His grace abounds even more. Just look at the splendors of His nature in our fallen world. This is true grace! Wow! God is truly awesome!

Speaking of sin, we can discover a lot about ourselves and about God in the middle of temptation. Jesus was not exempt from this, and when we study his journey through temptation, the first thing we realize is that we are going to hunger: “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” (Matt 4:2 NIV)

This is a completely normal part of life. Jesus’ hunger authenticates our own. We all are going to hunger sooner or later. The evil one takes advantage of this hunger, and at our weakest moment, he approaches us with the following message: “You don’t have to stay hungry, there are alternatives.”

“The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'” (Matt 4:3 NIV)

Yes, there are alternatives, but these alternatives sour when we stop trusting the Almighty! They will never ever provide us with what we most profoundly want and need. They are fakes! They are frauds!

Jesus’ response? “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” (Matt 4:4 NIV) In other words, these alternatives are not real life! The sooner we realize this, the sooner we are better off!

Would you like to go for a trek through the mountainous regions of Milford Sound with me? Take your raincoat! You will most certainly need it! Just imagine climbing the surrounding mountains for a couple of days.

The good news is that we won’t ever get thirsty! The bad news is that I forgot to pack lunches! But don’t worry. As soon as we are back to civilization, why don’t I treat you to a bag of Jaffes (candy coated chocolate balls)!

What? Not interested? It may make you sick, you say? Come on!

OK, then let’s go to an all-we-can-eat ice-cream parlor! My youngest son sure would like that!

Still not good enough? What’s the matter? Are these not tantalizing choices?

Not really, not when we are really starving for the real thing. A good steak with fries would hit the spot for most of you, and I would be satisfied with an plate of Thai vegetables and steamed rice. But the nutritionally-deprived foods we would not be really interested in, as they would most certainly make us sick. They do not satisfy our real cravings.

Knowing full well what we really desire, we will react to any of these frauds with a hearty laugh, just as Jesus did.

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.” (Heb 11:1 The Message)

Will you help me plant some lupines in the backyard?

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “Fearless Victory!” devotional series, please click here.)