No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
As Christians, we will be tempted. Satan looks for our weakest spot and goes in for the kill. Even Jesus Christ was tempted when He went into the wilderness for 40 days. When He was hungry, satan tempted him to turn a stone into bread.
Remember that God may tests us but he never tempts us. Temptation comes from the devil. Be able to recognize it for what it is.
Charles Stanley has said that we are most susceptible to temptation when we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.
We all know how to eat healthy, but we are most tempted to eat food that we know is not good for us when we are hungry. We are also most tempted to overeat when we have allowed ourselves to get too hungry.
We all know what anger produces. In anger we can be lead to sin by saying things we should not say or doing things we should not do.
Many people are lead into sexual sin through loneliness.
When we are tired and sleep deprived, we don’t think as well as we should and can easily be lead astray.
Each time Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he began his response to the devil with, “It is written..” The best way for us to be prepared to face temptation is to have a good strong knowledge of the Bible. In Ephesians 6 we are given the sword of the spirit. This is God’s word. Now if you are like me then you like to come back with some quick witted response that cuts to the bone and if you fail to do that then after it’s all over you do the whole Monday morning quarterback thing and sit there and think “I wish I would have said this or that.” The devil hopes that when we are upset that we respond in a worldly way and not in a biblical way. However, I have had the opportunity to do both and let me tell you the worldly way just kept stirring up more and more strife. When I used scripture to respond to someone that was coming against me, it calmed the storm. They responded with kindness and concern, wow! It really works! Proverbs 15:1-2 tells us that “A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouths of fools blurts out foolishness.” I had an opportunity to really cut someone to pieces. They sent me a really nasty text message and I could have responded about all the horrible things they had done, but first I prayed. Before I hit one stroke on the keyboard, I prayed. God had me respond kindly. It totally disarmed the person. I had no further problems with them after that.
When satan comes around tempting you to behave in a worldly way and not as the Bible instructs us to behave, be careful. Stay close to God. Ask God to get satan away from you. Most importantly, don’t give in to the temptation. Remember, if you are a Christian, satan wants more than anything to destroy your witness.
If you are not a Christian and you are living a life of strife and would like to escape the temptation that you constantly find yourself caving into, there is hope. This hope is found in Jesus Christ. Pray to God for help. Read your Bible. Find a good Bible teaching church and attend regularly.
We are all going to face temptation, but this scripture passage tells us that none of us face any temptation that is not common to man. It also tells us that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. Most importantly, however, He will not allow us to be tempted without a way to escape it. In other words, for every temptation, there is a way out. We don’t have to succumb to the temptation, we can remove ourselves from it.
So, when the co-worker that dresses and speaks to you seductively gets a little too close, there is a way out. When the so-called friend asks you to jump into a get rich quick scheme that you feel may cheat others out of money, there is a way out. When you’re emotions are wrecked and you feel that to eat an entire 3lb bag of peanut M&Ms is the best solution, there is a way out. God always provides the way out, for He is the way out. Turn to God, reach out to Him and He will draw near to you.
The Bible tells us that God never leaves us nor forsakes us. Don’t try to handle this on your own, leave it to the Professional. Ask for His strength and His guidance to bring you through this and help you to not cave in to the devil’s temptation. He is there for you. He wants to help you out of this situation, all you need to do is ask.
Have a great day!