"When You Are Tempted"

When You Are Tempted

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

We play with the word ‘tempted, or ‘temptation’, like it’s a game.  When we are trying to lose weight and look at a flavorful dessert piled high with whip cream and nuts with a cherry on top, we say, “I’m tempted to just take a couple of bites.”  Temptation says we are free to do that and it probably won’t hurt anything.  However, once we give in, it’s easier to do it the next and the next and after a while, it no longer bothers us.

Gambling has more temptation to it than many other things.  Satan has a strategy to work on a person until they become addicted.  He starts out by letting you win and that’s so exciting that you want to try it again and again.  Just when you think it’s not worth wasting your money, he lets you win again.  Now, you think it’s the greatest thing there is to spend hours trying to win more money.  If you ever figured up what you’ve spent over a long period of time, it’s very rare to come out on top.   For many people it becomes an addiction and can be harder to break than drugs.

Maybe one time you saw pornography on your computer and that one time led you to other sites until you were so tempted you couldn’t quit watching it.  Sex is a strong temptation for many and pornography leads you on and on.  The repercussion of it affects so many others; if you are married, it can destroy your marriage.  It is said that your eyes are the windows of your soul and what you see you allow to come into your soul and spirit.  Things you had never thought about before can latch on to you such as child pornography and pedophilia.  Many lives are destroyed due to this temptation.

Being tempted with a drug addiction is probably one of the strongest temptations, because it works on your physical body and alters your mind.  God did not create your body to withstand this type of abuse and eventually drugs will destroy both mind and body.  This is a proven fact.   

When we are tempted we tend to reason within ourselves and regularly fail.  God knew this would happen and so he created something inside of us to help us ward off these attacks from the enemy of our souls.  He tells us about it in I Corinthians 10:13 [NLT: “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”  The only way to fight against temptation is through God, because in yourself you don’t have the strength.  This is why the Bible tells you that “You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.” [Philippians 4:13]

We can read in Luke 4:1-12 how Satan tempted Jesus for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness without food or water.  He offered Jesus the world, but Jesus stood firm and refused every temptation.  In Matthew 4:11 it says, “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”

Jesus understands ‘temptation’ and has given us a way to escape by putting our faith in him and relying on his strength.  This is what it means when God says we won't be tempted beyond what we are able.  Just call out to the Lord when you feel yourself weaken and then hang on because he is able to deliver you and set you free from any addiction you may have.  God has made a way of escape and it is Jesus!