Text - James 1:13-15
As we journey towards the promise of eternity with God, we encounter situations that challenge our fidelity to Him. While being a Christian delivers us from the power of sin, it does not remove the possibility of temptation.
God may test our faith in Him to reveal our character but He doesn't tempt us to sin because He never intends to lure us away from Himself. The real source of our temptation is our sinful desire. From Adam, we inherited the desire to satisfy our flesh and the only hope of overcoming temptation is by acknowledging we have sinful desires that God needs to purify us from and replace by creating a new heart in us.
What does this mean for us? That we must be on guard against our desires and thoughts.
Sin first begins in our mind before it becomes an outward behavior; the more we entertain the thought, the closer the enemy brings an opportunity for us to act on it. Although the power of sin over us has been broken by virtue of our union with Christ, we must neither keep in touch with nor make provision for our sinful thoughts to prevail.
Even our legitimate desires can be the root of our own destruction. If we do not constantly put them before God, temptation can strike the spark that causes an explosion by turning those desires into sins. As Christians we are to live by faith not feelings, obedience to God not the satisfaction of our flesh.
We must have come up short on many occasions but there is hope for us in Christ Jesus to live above the power of sin in our lives. Holiness kept Christ upright in the face of temptation and the same can be our story if we lean on the Spirit of God to help us overcome the powerful lusts of our flesh and the heat of worldly desires.
I'll like to prescribe 4 practical ways we can overcome temptation:
1. Acknowledging our tendency to sin and inviting God to guard us against the vulnerability of temptation.
2. Renewing our minds by reading the word of God (Rom. 12:2)
3. Surrendering our hearts to be checked by God, purged of unrighteous desires and led in the way of life everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
4. Avoiding tempting situations that make us vulnerable to sin. (Matt. 5:29-30)
Prayer:
Dear God, please grant us the humility to place the will of our own bodies and flesh under Yours; the grace to go after You daily and the strength to live by the truth that You and not our bodies, has the final say.