Paul issues a promise to all of God’s children:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.

Paul reminds the Corinthians of the history of God’s people—first of how God led them in the desert—by a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night, and how he had delivered them from their Egyptian oppressors, by parting the Red Sea, and allowing them to cross over on dry land.  Yet, over and over again, they succumbed to temptation. . . and then faced God’s judgment.  1 Corinthians 10.1-13

“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.  They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.  They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.  Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

  Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.   Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.  We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.   And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.   So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.”

Good Morning~

Temptation is a fact of life; it is part of the human condition.  May I equip you with a new personalized mantra?  God is faithful; he will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. But when I am tempted, he will also provide a way out so that I can stand up under it. 

Several questions emerge with the consideration of temptation—does God send temptation our way? I’ve heard folks say, ‘If God didn’t tempt me, then I wouldn’t sin’.  Hmmm . . . James 1.13 says, “Let no one say when is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”  That is helpful and clear: God does not tempt anyone.  Thomas a Kempis wrote,

The beginning of all evil temptations is an unstable mind and a small trust in God.  Just as a ship without a helm is tossed by the  waves, so a person who lacks resolution and certainty is tossed about by temptations . . . temptations reveal who we are.1

So then, where does temptation come from?  “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.”2  It is our own individual desires that entice us, and it is for this reason that what tempts you may not tempt me and vice versa.

It seems that temptation is part of a process; it is the beginning of something that leads to sin, or not.  The process works like this:

         First, the thought is allowed to enter our minds

         Second, the imagination is sparked by the thought

         Third, we feel a sense of pleasure at the fantasy, and we entertain it

         Fourth and finally, we engage in the evil action, assenting to its urges.

Instead, Meet temptation at the door, and do not let it in.3

How do we do that?  First, remember that 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 stand up under it.  And so, we must go to God when first temptation strikes.

We will stop here for now; please meditate on some of these thoughts.  Recognize how temptation works in your life.  Then, when you are tempted, go to God, and ask him for help in overcoming the temptation rather than giving into it.  Amen. 

Christine, www.pastorwoman.com

1      The Temptation of Christ”  Thomas a Kempis, circa 1441.

2          2        James 1.14

3          3        a Kempis