Are you often tempted to do something you know you shouldn’t? Do you find it difficult to resist following through with it? Would you like to have a stronger will to resist? How is your knowledge and relationship with God?
We are tempted nearly every day to do something we know we shouldn’t do. Or we are tempted to turn back to a bad habit or give in to a sudden urge. Perhaps we resist occasionally but giving in can be so easy.
Resisting sinful desires can be extremely difficult. This is especially true if it is a sin we have dabbled in for a long time. Our behavior and self-justification tell us that one more time won’t hurt. It is made all the easier to justify it in our own mind if we are not affecting anyone else. Yet, we are not to fall prey to the temptation. So, how to we resist?
It requires us to know God and know Him intimately. It requires us to have a close relationship with Him and rely on His guidance. It requires us to reach out to Him during those times of temptation. How do we do this?
We read and study His Word. We regularly spend time in prayer with Him. We memorize and quote Scripture when the temptation comes. We pray, asking God to remove the temptation both well in advance and at the time the temptation arises. We are continually in contact with God. Perhaps that is why the apostle Paul wrote “pray continually” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. It is a continual communing and communicating with God.
As today’s passage states, God will provide a way to resist the temptation and to endure the challenge of resisting. Our responsibility is to reach out and hold on to God. He is always there, always willing to come to our aid.
I pray we all grow in our knowledge of God. I pray we build our relationship with God. I pray each one of us prepare for temptation by memorizing Scripture and spending time in prayer. Read God’s Word. Study God’s Word. Spend time in prayer. Reach out to God when temptation arises. Trust God to provide a way to resist.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.
Marty Pressey 