How To Handle Temptation

     

      Temptation is going to present itself and it is a test you can pass if you look to Jesus and let Him get you through it. God’s word tells us in 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.”

     This is what you can do when you are tempted to do something you shouldn’t do. First of all, check what you are tempted by with your spirit and ask yourself, “Would Jesus do this and would He want me to do it?” If your answer is a big fat NO, then don’t do it!

     Here is what you can do instead—get the glamorous thoughts out of your head that you are missing out on something. You are not missing out on anything except destruction and devastation. Your thoughts need to be dwelling on the end result of what will happen if you give into temptation and succumb to something you shouldn’t. The end result is destruction and devastation and you already know that, it is the very reason you are seeking freedom from addiction in the first place.  So with thoughts now focused on what will happen if you give into temptation, alternate those thoughts with thoughts of what will happen if you don’t succumb to it.

     “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”, 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV).

     Here is what will happen if you give your weakness to Jesus your Savior and let Him see you through this trial, this test, this temptation—You will become stronger and you will see that if you call out to Jesus and tell Him that you are weak, but you want to grab ahold of His strength, He will impart His strength to you and suddenly you will realize that you got through it without giving in and you now have something to build on for the next test! Yes, there will be a next time, but each time you give it to Jesus and you and Him get through it, you come out of the test or trial stronger in Him and able to turn it over to Him more quickly and more assuredly the next time. Why? Because now you really know that He will not fail you!

     There is such joy when you finally know that you can do this, you can turn your temptation of weakness into a powerful victory in Christ—and if you can do it once, you and Jesus can do it again.

     There is nothing more powerful than a victory over something with and through the strength and power of Jesus. It builds and strengthens your faith and your trust in Him because you have now experienced His strength to overcome your weakness and you suddenly see that it isn’t within you to do any of it, but through Him you can actually do and overcome anything!

     I think it is very important to understand that tempting thoughts of falling, using, giving in or going back to your old ways are just that—thoughts and nothing more than thoughts, unless and until you act on them, so don’t act on them, just don’t.  It is also important to remember that Jesus suffered and was tempted too. Now, he wasn’t tempted to sin because there was no sin in Him, but He was taunted by the enemy with lies to try and tempt Jesus with the “easy way out” to make His life easier, to try and stray Him away from what He was here to do—which was to save all mankind. 

      The bible tells us that He is “…A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…”Jesus took them to the cross for us as it tells us in Isaiah 53:3-4 (NKJV). We do not serve a Savior who has no idea what we are going through, He does and He is here to help us, all we have to do is ask Him sincerely and He will give us all the help we need, Hebrews 4:15-16 (NKJV) tells us, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

     Since we are human we are going to fall. I know that sounds or seems discouraging, but here is the good part, we are forgiven and we don’t have to stay in a fallen state. I have finally come to understand that Jesus died for all of my sin—even the sin I have not committed yet. This seems strange I know, but look at it like this; He wouldn’t have died to pay only for sin already committed with generations of humans still to be created and put on the earth, where would be the atonement for their sin? My point is that if we know that we are forgiven when we sincerely confess and ask Him (because He paid the full price for our forgiveness), then we can get right back on track if we fall or stray from His protection.  He is always waiting and ready to forgive and help you get right back to where you need to be. He does however want us to learn from our willful wanderings, not keep repeating them.  1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLV) reminds us of this, “You have never been tempted to sin in any different way than other people. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can take. But when you are tempted, He will make a way for you to keep from falling into sin.”

     Let’s think about some of the reasons you might have fallen or are tempted to stray in the first place. Let’s consider some questions to get the answers we are seeking: Are you actively pursuing a new life in Christ? Are you falling into agape love with your Savior, the one who set you free from a life of addiction?  Are your “friends” and those you associate with Christians and free from addiction and the bondage it brings? Are you strong enough to be around them if not? If you are not involved with them to help them and share what God has set you free from then maybe you should wait until you know and He has told you that it is time to help others. He would never send you into a situation you were not ready and completely prepared for. So don’t go into a situation He hasn’t directed you into because you will only be setting yourself up to be tempted and possibly fall. Check your motives for what you are doing and who you are doing it with.

     Remember, wherever you go now you take Jesus with you and it is your responsibility to represent Him as the wonderful Savior and Redeemer that He is and if you are not showing that when you are hanging with people then maybe you shouldn’t be “hanging” with them. You are now supposed to influence others to Christ not let them influence you away from Him.

 If you have strayed and fallen the most important thing Jesus wants you to understand is that it doesn’t mean your walk with Him is over—it means that your relationship with Him must get stronger.  He isn’t going to leave you because you slipped up; He is never going to leave you. The devil wants you to wallow in shame and condemnation after you have fallen, but God wants you to receive the forgiveness Jesus paid for and move on in Him and be stronger from now on so that you can stand against it next time. In other words, don’t keep kicking yourself for straying just learn from it and move on, yes even if you stray more than once.

     We are not perfect people, none of us. And how boring would life be if we were? Also, if we were perfect we would not need to seek, walk and abide in Jesus, but we do and He knows we cannot do it on our own. He is the one who tells us this in John 15:5 (NKJV), “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” 

     This new creation you are now becoming is starting to take hold, it is becoming who and what you are and the old you is fading away as you grow stronger in the things and the ways of the Lord. It is exactly what is supposed to happen. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) reminds us of this, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

      Don’t stop now because it only gets better from here on out. Yes, there will be times of trial and temptation, but with each victory over temptation that you and Jesus get through, you will now add to the reservoir of victories you can draw strength from for the next time temptation tries to knock on your door. Yes, there is a reservoir of victories to come and a brand new life in Him. Hallelujah!

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