Sometimes we feel the strong pull of temptation and we give into it time and time again. Temptation can feel like there are invisible strings pulling us in and we feel almost powerless to say no. The good news for the believer is that we are not powerless. We believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and He will give us the power to say no to temptation.
The Lord will always show us a way out of those moments of temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). The problem is that sometimes we aren't truly looking for the way out. If we want to break free from those things we need to humble ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and direct our steps by submitting to His authority.
We all face moments where we are tempted by something or someone. Temptation is not a sin. Giving into temptation is a sin. The Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil, but unlike you and I Jesus never ever gave into temptation. That means Jesus never sinned.
We can learn how to battle temptation by looking at the way the Lord Jesus handled being tempted by the devil. We can read of that account in Matthew 4:1-11 which says,
"1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempteda by the devil.
2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’b”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’c ”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’d”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’e”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him."
Jesus was led out into the wilderness, after He was baptized by John the Baptist, by the Holy Spirit. Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights and He was very hungry. The devil came along to tempt Jesus in this time of presumed weakness. The devil likes to attack us when we feel weak, tired, hungry, and worn out emotionally. We need to be on our guard.
We can be on our guard by reading God's Word, the Bible, and memorizing Bible verses that we can use when our enemy attacks. We also need to learn to flee from those temptations that really trouble us. We need to submit to the Lord and resist the devil so that he will flee from us.
The Lord Jesus fought back against the temptations that the devil threw at Him with the Word of God. The Word of God is powerful and sharper then a double edged sword. We need to stand firm upon God's Holy Word and the truth of who the Lord is.
We can say no to temptations with the help of the Holy Spirit and with Scripture. God's Word never fails and it will never return to us void if we use it properly.
We believers in Christ want to live lives that honor the Lord, but sometimes those same temptations keep attacking us because we are weak in the flesh. Thankfully, Jesus is strong and He is a present help in our time of need.
May we seek the Lord's help in saying no to the temptations that come to us.
Lord,
Help us to deal with our temptations.
Help us to want to say no to them.
Sometimes we don't feel like saying no even though we know that giving in to them is wrong and hurts You.
Please forgive us for our sinfulness and foolishness.
Help us to walk in the Spirit so we will not give any room to the flesh.
Thank You Lord for helping us overcome those things that tempt us.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.
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