1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” –
When
we fall into temptation and take action that we know is against God's will, the
glamor of our actions loses its appeal when our evil deed is uncovered and
brought to light. The word "temptation" has two main highways of
belief. Temptation can be a testing time; however, it can also signify an
enticement to commit some sin that we know is wrong. Any inducement to fall
into sin does not stem from God but originates either from the world, the
flesh, or Satan.
Sometimes, God will put us in certain
circumstances to demonstrate our loyalty to Him or help a person get back on
the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. The wilderness time
for the Children of Israel is a prime example of that concept. Exodus
15:25 tells us that God proved or tested them. As we learn from the first pages
of the Book of Genesis, God tested Adam and Eve by his probation of partaking
in the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of evil and good. They fell
into Satan's trap of unbelief and disobedience.
Have you ever had to choose between two
items in the store? You pick one, and before you get out the door, you start
thinking, I probably should have chosen the other one. Now that we can't have
it, it looks like it was the better choice. The best value we can have for
another person is the value of love. When we surrender ourselves to God, we
will not be involved in covetous behavior or wanting our neighbor's
possessions, and our eyes will not wander off into temptation as King
David did with Bathsheba. We won't be fighting and complaining but will seek to
put our neighbor ahead of our agenda. Imagine how different the world would be
if we did random acts of love toward our neighbors rather than random acts of
hostility against them.
Life is not a list of do's and don'ts, it
is a life of fulfilling the desires of our hearts, which come from delighting
in the Lord. When we delight ourselves in the Lord and watch over our hearts
diligently, we will not have to worry about picking forbidden fruits, giving in
temptations, or doing wrong. The thoughts will not even pass through our mind
because we have learned the secret of authentic living, delighting ourselves in
Christ Jesus.
Life will always have temptations. We
can choose to indulge in them or pass them by for the better purpose of
fulfilling God's plan for our lives.
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