Just a back story to what really motivated me on this particular topic; I was sitting in my room recently and was just talking to God and all of a sudden, out of no where, temptation just began to formulate in my mind. It was not surprising that the thoughts came- what surprised me the most was how QUICKLY God responded to the attack. As the thoughts began to unravel, The Holy Spirit quickly began to remind me of the endurance and perseverance Jesus had when the devil tempted Him not once, not twice, but three times in Matthew 4.
- "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become Bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: Man Shall not live on Bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Please read the whole passage Matthew 4)
Surely that passage brought revelation to my spirit on the promises of God unto us. The word of God says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind." Before I go on with the rest of the verse, it is interesting to know that the "temptations" we go through are very common to everyone else out there. One way the devil attacks us is; after projecting the thoughts in our minds, he tries to blame us by making us feel like we're dirty, not worthy, and that we are the only ones battling against certain thoughts, situations and emotions. .rest assured that- that is a complete LIE! The number one way we self destruct is through our thought patterns. In effect, the devil will attack your mind by giving the illusion that because you are tempted, you are less than everyone else. Ever wonder why suicidal rates have skyrocketed in the past decade? Ever wonder why more and more teens are now turning to cutting themselves and drugs just to "feel like themselves"? Its all the work of the devil. He knows if he can attack your mind he can surely attack your life, your purpose and can eventually lead you to hell. The next part of the verse (1 Corinthian 10:13) spoke to me the loudest; God Himself says "He will not let [us] be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when [we] are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that [we] can endure." Wow. God knows us so much, He knows our human nature so well (after all He did create us), that He would create a way out of the temptations the devil throws our way. I remember one time someone asked me if temptation was sin and the answer is NO- temptation is NOT sin. Temptation is the testing of your faith.Though temptation is not sinning, it can lead to sin if we do not persevere in faith believing that God already has a way out and by actually following through with the plans of the Lord. James explains this perfectly in the Book of James the first chapter by saying "Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance." He goes on in verse 12 to say "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the "test" (temptation) that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him". Some of you might ask, well sister Rebecca, " Since God created me, why would He allow me to be tempted in the first place?" Fret not my friends, the Word of God has the answer to your question- lets take a journey back to Eden. I'm sure you know the story of Adam and Eve and how the sneaky snake found its way in the garden and "tempted" Eve. Now the snake did not "make" Eve eat the fruit. She had a choice. Same thing with Adam- he had a choice to resist the temptation-but they failed and therefore fell into sin. The same logic applies to our lives. You must "choose" to endure the temptations of the devil- and the only way that's possible is if you have the Holy Word engraved on your heart. Going back to the beginning of this blog, I wrote that God QUICKLY responded to the attack and the way He did that was by reminding me of the verse I sited above (Matthew 4). I highlighted "reminded" because notice how I had to have the verse somewhere in my mind before it could be regenerated fully. There is no way you can flee from temptation if you do not have the Word of God as the first resource to help withstand the attacks of the devil.
In conclusion, I know it can be a struggle to keep right and to walk fully in alignment with God- especially for those that are not daily feeding their souls with the Word of God. But Glory be to God, He has promised a way out of the temptations we face. We are all susceptible to temptation and because of that, it's crucial to be drenched with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Sad to say, we are living in a generation that gives more importance to everything else but the Word of God. But I know after reading this post, God will bring revelation to you on how to be prepared for war (See Ephesians 6:12). The next time temptation comes creeping at your door, make sure you are equipped enough to persevere and win the fight because your crown of life awaits. Let no thought, no one, no situation steal your crown.
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