The devil understands the power of reflectors. That is why he uses it a lot with subtlety. Have you noticed that he rarely comes and talks to you directly? He always refers to something. He has a very indirect and subtle way of penetrating your mind. He knows better than to employ blatancy in his invasion of your consciousness.

So, going back to the temptation of Jesus, we discover that what Satan did was to present pictures of Jesus’ apparent state of lack to Him. The devil capitalized on Jesus’ appearance of neediness.

“Hey,” I can imagine the wily devil saying to Jesus, “you’re hungry and it’s obvious that all you have around you here are stones. The only things feasible to get here and now are stones, and they cannot be eaten. Now, you’ve got no option, just turn them into bread and eat, if you are truly the son of God!”

The devil is a master of appearances. He is a master of pictures. He knows how to create confusion with appearances. He knows exactly how to play with what you see.

Had the devil succeeded in altering the way Jesus saw Himself, he would have instantly distorted the self-image of Christ, and then taken control of the destiny of Jesus. Jesus did not fall for the trick.

The devil is an old trickster. He plays that old trick against people today. Beware and on guard, so that when he tries to pull his stunts at you, you can effectively counter him.