Facing Temptation

We face temptation every day, don’t we? We face temptation when those unhealthy bags of chips (or ice cream if you have a sweet tooth) are looking yummy even though we just ate lunch. Do we cave in and eat it? Oh, how tempting that can be. We also face temptation when we see that desired item we want because we think it’ll make us happy to get it. Do we cave in and buy it impulsively? It’s tempting, isn’t it? We go through these little temptations quite frequently, and we know these temptations are quite common. But what about that one temptation you struggle with?

I hope something came to mind when I asked you that? I won’t ask you what temptation you struggle with, but does it like to reoccur? You ran away from it once but ended up facing it again. Sometimes you cave in and have indulged in this temptation before. Only for it to leave you feeling guilty and disappointed. Has it ever made you think, “Why me? Why do I have to face this? Will I ever be able to overcome? I bet others do not have to struggle with what I struggle with…” I will be honest; these thoughts have crossed my mind before. I think that’s why I like 1 Corinthians 10:13.

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. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

This little verse points out so much. For starters, it shows that everyone goes through temptation. Do you know what that means? It means that others do struggle with the temptation you struggle with. It’s not just you. You are not alone facing this. This leads to another aspect of the verse. Others have resisted that same temptation you struggle with! If they did it, you can do it! Because God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. This verse also points out that God will help you. He provides you with a way out. What you are facing can be resisted.

But maybe at times, you are like me. There have been times when I was faced with temptation, I would think to myself, “Oh, I can handle this.” I ran away from it, but I used my strength in doing so. I bet you can guess what happened? The temptation caught up with me. I ended up facing it again, and this time around, I caved in. Indulging in it. Because you see, when I ran away, I did not run towards God.

God helps us resist temptation in several ways. Through prayer, our minds will end up focused on God himself. When we feel the clutches of temptation growing tighter around us, we should pray. He is willing to help us. He will show you what is right and what is wrong and will give you the desire to do what is right.

So, when you run away from temptation, run towards God.

Remove yourself from any situation that stimulates your desire to sin. Show how active your faith is by doing so. Run towards God. Find that difficult? Here is something you can do: feed your soul. Read your Bible more, pray more, connect with the body of Christ more. The more you feed your soul, the more likely it’ll be to go directly to God amongst temptation. After all, you’ll only truly overcome it with him. The closer you are to him; the more sin no longer becomes an option.