Overcoming Temptation
Let me start this blog off by saying if you have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, you have a call on your life. That means, God didn’t just save you from going to hell, He saved you for a purpose. And that purpose is to win souls –that only you can relate to– to Christ. II Corinthians 5:18 (NKJV) says, we have been reconciled back to God through Jesus Christ, and He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. The challenge we face is Satan knows this, as well.
This does not imply that Satan is all knowing or all powerful, because he is not. But every believer that comes to Christ is one less lost soul for Satan’s army. Therefore, Satan’s job is to distract you from your calling, destroy your mission, contaminate your life, and poison your ministry. His most effective weapon of choice is temptation.
Now, temptation is an enticement or an invitation to sin, with the implied promise of greater good to be derived from following the way of disobedience. This weapon of temptation is similar to that of a shotgun. A shotgun is a firearm that uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shots that spread upon leaving the barrel. Temptation when fired upon you will destroy your spiritual growth and even damage those close to you. Temptation seduces you to sin, but it also invites others to sin causing them to fail.
Have you ever been tempted with something you thought you were delivered from, yet to your surprise you found yourself giving in to that temptation? Why is it so easy sometimes, even after salvation, to fall into temptation? The answer is found in I Corinthians 10:12-13 (NLT) that says, “12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
Every believer goes through periods of temptation in our lives, but our saving grace is that God never stops being faithful to us. Even when we are not faithful to Him and we fall into temptation, God is still faithful. I John 1:9 (NKJV) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God’s faithfulness does not depend on our obedience, but it originates from His unwavering love for us. Not only that, but God will always provide a way or an avenue for us to overcome our temptation.
So the question then becomes, why is it that we don’t always follow the escape route that God provides for us? Is it because, sometimes we just want what we want? Or is it because, we underestimate the cunning, shrewd, crafty, and even intelligent tricks of the enemy? What we must understand is that we are in a war, and we are the targets; we are the prey, and our enemy is hunting us. That’s what Satan does, he hunts the saints of God on a continuous and constant basis, and when he finds a kink in your armor, he zooms in on it. I Peter 5:8 (NLT) says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Satan will always try to tempt you with something that will discredit and disgrace God’s purpose for your life.
The reason we succumb to temptation is that we desire the temptation, more then we desire God. And at some point we must make up in our minds that our relationship with our Savior is far more important than the thing, the person, or the circumstance that is tempting us. And when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, the way He overcame His temptation is with the Word of God. That is the blueprint! The Word of God will be your offensive weapon when you are faced with any kind of temptation. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
Temptation comes from your innermost thoughts and desires that you shouldn’t do, but the Word of God will expose those and it will equip you with the ammunition to overcome your toughest tests. Everybody is tempted, but it is how you respond to your temptation that determines and secures your ultimate victory. And when you are tempted you must respond with the Word of God that says, Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37). It is the Word of God that will enable you to overcome your temptations, therefore you must read your Word, so you can know your Word; and when you find yourself in the midst of temptation, you must call on THE WORD, in the person of Jesus Christ, and He will deliver you.
This does not imply that Satan is all knowing or all powerful, because he is not. But every believer that comes to Christ is one less lost soul for Satan’s army. Therefore, Satan’s job is to distract you from your calling, destroy your mission, contaminate your life, and poison your ministry. His most effective weapon of choice is temptation.
Now, temptation is an enticement or an invitation to sin, with the implied promise of greater good to be derived from following the way of disobedience. This weapon of temptation is similar to that of a shotgun. A shotgun is a firearm that uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shots that spread upon leaving the barrel. Temptation when fired upon you will destroy your spiritual growth and even damage those close to you. Temptation seduces you to sin, but it also invites others to sin causing them to fail.
Have you ever been tempted with something you thought you were delivered from, yet to your surprise you found yourself giving in to that temptation? Why is it so easy sometimes, even after salvation, to fall into temptation? The answer is found in I Corinthians 10:12-13 (NLT) that says, “12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
Every believer goes through periods of temptation in our lives, but our saving grace is that God never stops being faithful to us. Even when we are not faithful to Him and we fall into temptation, God is still faithful. I John 1:9 (NKJV) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God’s faithfulness does not depend on our obedience, but it originates from His unwavering love for us. Not only that, but God will always provide a way or an avenue for us to overcome our temptation.
So the question then becomes, why is it that we don’t always follow the escape route that God provides for us? Is it because, sometimes we just want what we want? Or is it because, we underestimate the cunning, shrewd, crafty, and even intelligent tricks of the enemy? What we must understand is that we are in a war, and we are the targets; we are the prey, and our enemy is hunting us. That’s what Satan does, he hunts the saints of God on a continuous and constant basis, and when he finds a kink in your armor, he zooms in on it. I Peter 5:8 (NLT) says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Satan will always try to tempt you with something that will discredit and disgrace God’s purpose for your life.
The reason we succumb to temptation is that we desire the temptation, more then we desire God. And at some point we must make up in our minds that our relationship with our Savior is far more important than the thing, the person, or the circumstance that is tempting us. And when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, the way He overcame His temptation is with the Word of God. That is the blueprint! The Word of God will be your offensive weapon when you are faced with any kind of temptation. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
Temptation comes from your innermost thoughts and desires that you shouldn’t do, but the Word of God will expose those and it will equip you with the ammunition to overcome your toughest tests. Everybody is tempted, but it is how you respond to your temptation that determines and secures your ultimate victory. And when you are tempted you must respond with the Word of God that says, Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37). It is the Word of God that will enable you to overcome your temptations, therefore you must read your Word, so you can know your Word; and when you find yourself in the midst of temptation, you must call on THE WORD, in the person of Jesus Christ, and He will deliver you.
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