Away from Temptation

We are all being tempted according to our weakness. First of all, let me just say that when we are tempted, it is not God who is tempting us but the enemy.  According to James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” The devil is the one who tempts us. He (satan)even tried to tempt Jesus but he failed.  (Matthew 4:1-11)

Imagine if satan have the guts to tempt Jesus, who are we to not be excused. Sad to say that we are his target. He wants us to sin against our God. Remember when he tempted Eve at the Garden of Eden?  When we fall to temptation, it will lead to sin. On the other hand, every temptation is an opportunity to do good.

You can say it is a temptation when it is against your principle/moral values/normal practice and it is against God’s will. For instance, you are not allowed to eat anything sweet because of your high sugar level. Seeing a box of chocolate in front of you will be your temptation. You have 2 option. Either to give in or to ignore. It would really depend on your commitment to your self. If you don’t want to get sick of course, you will not eat that chocolate. If you don’t care about your health, you would just get it without hesitation.  

Is temptation sin? The answer is no. It will only become a sin once you give in. Remember that Jesus has been tempted in all things we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). The goal of the enemy is to keep us away from our creator and that is by making us commit sin. Sin separates us from God. Everytime we sin, we put smile on the enemy’s face. Do you want that? I don’t. I’m created to please God. I want to please God not someone else but like what the bible says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). I was once separated from God because of my sins. (Read my testimony). I was indulged with sin. All sins are pleasurable. It will give you temporary satisfaction but not a lifetime fulfillment.  If sin is boring, do you think would anyone even attempt to do it? Is there a tideous thing that you want to over and over again by choice? If there is boring thing that you’ve been doing for quite sometime, I’m sure it is not your choice and if you only have a choice, you will stop doing it. 

Temptation is a devil’s scheme for us to sin against God for he know that God hates sin and he knows that God must punish our sins. “Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; Exodus 34:7b” The only purpose of the enemy is to destroy us. We should not allow it to happen. Jesus even included deliverance from temptation on his prayer (Matthew 6:13) because He knows that it is one of our needs aside from our daily bread. The enemy will not stop to tempt us. He will do it over and over again until he succeed and when he does succeed, it is no longer a temptation but a bad habit that is not pleasing to God’s eye. 

Each of us has our own struggles. It is only a matter of faith and our love to Jesus Christ. We are the salt and light of this world. How can we fight temptation? It is not that easy to tell you honestly but it is not impossible. For nothing is impossible with God. (Luke 1:37) First thing that you need to know is you cannot do it alone. We need God’s power to resist temptation. He will provide a way out so that we can endure any temptation that comes along the way. (1 Corinthians 10:13). Temptation will constantly bug you from time to time but don’t worry if you will just put your trust to God, for sure you can overcome any temptation. Now that you know that you need God’s help to resist temptation, you ought to know that you need to feed yourself with God’s word everyday. At first, you would feel strengthened and you can overcome your struggles for few weeks. Don’t rely on your own strength for I tell you that it is not enough. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Don’t forget to pray and read his word and surely this will give us enough strength to resist temptation. The most important thing that we need to have is our love to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What are the things you would trade for him? Our love for Him should be on top of everything and anything on this earth. We should have a heart to totally commit our life for him.

I have struggles. I failed sometimes but now, I am more convicted to live according to his will. 

To sum it up, here are the steps on how to resist temptations:

• Prepare yourself to have a heart that is willing to turn away from that sin.
• Ask God for strength to resist temptation.
• Pray without ceasing and read His word everyday.
• Choose to please God than to please yourself.

We always have a choice and God has given us this freedom to choose what is right and wrong. Do you want to live according to his will? Do you want to please God? Are tired of fighting temptations? 

You can pray with me.

Father, thank you for your undying love. Thank you for your faithfulness. I ask for your forgiveness for my sins that I know that is not pleasing to you. For now on, help me resist all temptations that would hinder my intimate walk with you. Always provide a way out whenever I am tempted. Jesus, I want to be like you that has been tempted in every way but did not give in. Teach me to rely to you than to my own strength. I choose to please you than myself. 

All of these I ask, In Jesus name.

AMEN

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin.

 

All verses was taken from New International Version (NIV)

Additional reading:
http://www.gotquestions.org/overcome-temptation.html