“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Matt. 26:41 NLT
“The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation”. Luke 8:13 NLT
The longer we serve Jesus as a disciple the more different temptation becomes.
In our natural state, temptation was a problem only if there as a chance we would get caught.
In our spiritual state, it becomes a problem because it upsets the delicate balance between assumed spirituality and real spirituality.
Temptation, for every disciple, has two hazards: time; taking a short cut, or being impatient with God and method; substituting a different way for God’s way or taking things into our own hands.
Every temptation forces us to reexamine our spiritual foundation and to choose whether we will wait for God’s time or seize our own time. In this way God teaches us obedience; to wait.
The closer we walk with God, the more subtle temptation becomes. It is like approaching a bright light; the closer we get, the sharper the shadows are. The temptation of Jesus in Gethsemane was far more subtle than the temptations He suffered in the wilderness. Each new level of commitment for us opens up a whole new range of possible deviations from that commitment.
When we are tempted we are consoled by Jesus, who is ‘touched with the feeling’ of our infirmity (Heb. 4:15 KJV). He cannot remove our temptation, nor can He be tempted for us, but He understands the battle we are in, and He prays for us (Lk 22:32). He cheers us on and He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).
He never lets us go, no matter how often we fail, because He has put His life in us and He has determined that His life must not fail. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Heb. 2:18 NIV
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it”. I Cor. 10:13 NIV
No comments:
Post a Comment