Temptations are part of the package. 

We all have a business card and under our name, it says: Child of God. Such a shame that many of us are shy and hide the card from the people around us, but that’s a story for another day. 

We need to know is that if you have such a business card – whether you show it to the whole world or hide it – temptations are part of your day. They show up in the funniest, most unexpected places. 

We must withstand temptation. We must expect them and be prepared for them. Some of them are tough to withstand. Some of them we cannot overcome on our own. Fortunately, there is help! 

9So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day.  

God will help us to resist the temptations. When we improve our relationship with God, if we spend enough time with Him and allow the Spirit to take the lead, the benefit is that They will always help us to resist temptations.  

Cornie (not his real name) has experienced this firsthand: 

I was stuck in pornography, but the Lord set me free. 

I started to pray for the people who made those videos because they don’t know the difference between right and wrong. 

How it happened, I don’t know, but I was saved. It was just a Divine miracle, although it didn’t happen overnight. 

I examined my own psyche to see what stimulates these urges and found that they are possibly due to feelings of rejection by the environment around me. 

By tackling these feelings with promises from Scripture and spiritual warfare, I realized it was a clever strategy of satan … 

I am loved, I am pardoned. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Even if I fall a thousand times, God will pick me up one more time. And the more times I get up, the stronger I get. This happens with time and persistence. 

And this was the way it happened. The intervals between stumbles got longer and longer and eventually, I was at the point where I could say NO with certainty to the temptation, get up from my computer, and go do something else to distract myself. 

“The Lord set me free,” says Cornie. He cleaned up his side and made plans to resist the temptation, but without the power of God, it would have been hard. Are you struggling with something? Are you struggling with an addiction or a temptation that keeps creeping in? Maybe you need to work on your relationship with God and keep believing that God will help you get rid of the temptation. 

Scripture
2 Peter 2:4-11

Reflection
What temptation lies before you?
How can you get rid of it?
What does your relationship with God look like? 

Prayer
Father, You know what I’m struggling with. Give me strength, wisdom and perseverance to get rid of it. Amen.