13. We Have a role to play in Temptation

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. James 1:12-16

When the serpent presented his temptation to Eve in the Garden of Eden, he did not force her. He enticed. All of Eve’s senses were functional and she could have chosen to run, call for help, turn away, or say no. She yielded.
The devil does not make you sin. You have a role to play in your temptations. Satan entices as he majors on areas where you are most vulnerable. Remember, you have other choices. You don’t have to yield to temptation.

Read: 1 John 2: 14-17

14. Your Temptations Are Weighed

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1Corinthians 10:12-13

Your temptations are weighed. God will not permit that you to be tempted above what you can withstand. You will not face anything that nobody else has faced before. The deep desires and appetites which gnaw at your heart have and will always be.
There is no temptation that is irresistible. Be sober! Be vigilant! Look around, there is a way out. Within you, too, is God given strength to help you overcome. Don’t be quick to yield to your temptation, instead be quick to call on God who will not only show the way out but will help you master each temptation that you may help others effectively.

Read: James 1:2-4


15. Be Spiritually Minded

You will have great spiritual influence in people’s lives if you are spiritually minded. The world is full of carnally minded people. Can you be different?

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:4-6

The world is full of people who will benefit from those who are spiritually minded. The many who are suffering are longing for real answers to their problems. Those under the chains of sin are looking for real freedom. Lonely and desperate hearts are desirous of lasting solutions in life.
Be spiritually minded. Walk with God and have a touch of God on your life. Let God give you the tongue of the learned that you may have His timely Word for the many who are weary. Walk in God’s power that you may effectively help the many desperate hearts with whom you interact every day.

Read: 1 John 1: 5-7


16. Don’t Run Ahead of God
Does God seem silent, indifferent, and ultimately late in certain areas of your life today?
Do you feel like taking action to initiate or speed up progress?
Step back and wait on God. God is not late. Don’t run ahead of Him.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. …He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 11

God has your life under His control. He knows the right time for you to be on earth, go to school, get married, and rear a godly family as you serve Him.
God is a master-planner. Look at how orderly His creation is despite the billions who engage it every day. God knows what is best for you at every stage of your life. He will not fail you. Be patient and watch out for His boundaries in your life. Those are God’s arms of protective grace, mercy, and love. Wait on the Lord, I say again, Wait.

Read: Psalm 27:13-14


17. Has God Departed?

And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain…. Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her…. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken… 1Samuel 4: 11, 19, 21

Very sad but sobering words are recorded in Judges 16:20 concerning God’s choice servant, Samson, who was in a strange woman’s lap. “And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.”
You are faced with an enemy whose aim is to drive you from God. Be careful how you live. Israel lost the glory of God. Samson did not realize that God had departed. Where is God in your life?

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:33-34

18. Fire Burns
You are faced with an enemy whose aim is to drive you from God. Be careful how you live today. Think about your choices. Evaluate your choices today. Involve God in what you do. Listen to His wise counsel.
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Proverbs 6:25-29

Stop and analyze your steps today. To where are your thoughts and feet leading you? Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter 5:8. Contrary to common belief, Satan does not just target the weak and frail. He is looking for God’s precious children; both the weak and the strong. He desires to net the most influential.
You are not too strong for Satan. Guard your heart. Guard your feet. Don’t play with fire, it will burn.

Read: James 1:12