“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” I Corinthians 10:13
Last week, I listened to a lesson shared by Dean Hamby, one of the preachers at my church. It focused on the above verse, presenting it in a totally different way than I had previously understood. I had always thought of “temptation” as a huge sinful obstacle in my life, but this time, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to a different meaning.
“Temptation” is anything in me that disappoints God or draws me away from Him. It has been easy for me to use this verse to refer to something obvious, but now I was drawn to examine other things that I never really deemed applicable to my spiritual well-being. When I thought of anything in me that disappointed God, it made me pause and reflect. Have I been disappointing God?
As I did some self-examination, I realized I had allowed temptation to enter and settle in some areas of my life in the guise of “I just don’t have any self-control” (ex: food choices) or “I can’t do that” (ex: areas of service) or “It’s not a big deal” (ex: music choices) in order to control a situation to favor my personal desires. As I lamented over this eye-opening revelation, I had a wee bit of consolation. I was not alone.
Temptations are “common to man.” This means that it is not unusual for me to be faced with the lure of these sinful behaviors because everyone faces similar situations. However, it is vital to remember that commonality in no way means acceptance. We live in a sinful world ruled by Satan who is compared to a roaring lion, walking to and fro on this earth, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He plots ways to tempt us and draw us from God, and we must fight hard to avoid his snares.
At times, conquering temptations can seem almost impossible, but there is always hope where God is concerned! 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that our God is a faithful God. He has promised to never abandon us (Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5), and He promises to “not suffer you to be tempted above that what ye are able.” This means God will never allow you or me to face a temptation that we cannot successfully reject. He won’t leave us alone to make the decision of what to do; His Holy Spirit will always be with us to guide us to the wise and right choice and then empower us to act upon that choice. All we need to do is do it! Sounds easy, but it not always is. Our fleshly nature tends to gravitate toward sin, which I might add can be very pleasurable in its moment, but eventually it will lead to regret, guilt, anguish… this list goes on and on, and none of these are pleasurable by any means.
So, what do we do? We have two choices. We can choose (yes, I said “choose”) to accept the temptation, thereby distancing ourselves from God and engaging in sinful behaviors, or we can choose the “way of escape” that God Himself has provided. He always has a way out for us, but it is up to us to take it. Therefore, we must act wisely, and in doing so, we bring glory to God and save ourselves from the heartbreaking consequences of choosing sinful temptations.
How do we attain the wisdom to choose the right way? That’s a good question with a very simple answer. Ask God for it. James wrote “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). When you ask God for wisdom, not only does He give it to you, He gives it to you “liberally.” That means He gives you a whole lot of wisdom! As you pray and read the Scriptures, you will find wisdom as the Holy Spirit illuminates the Word of God for you. You will not lack what you need to make righteous, godly choices and to bear up against “the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10). The choice is ours to make. God is faithful to do His part; we must be faithful to do ours.
Choose wisely.
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26
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What steps can you take today to enable you to choose wisely in regards to temptations you face?