DEALING WITH TEMPTATION
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
James 1:13-15 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Let’s talk about temptation. First, temptation is not sin! We are human beings made from dirt. We have a sin nature, and we have all sinned. Satan knows our weaknesses and will customize the temptation to hit our weakest area.
We are in a battle. The scripture regularly refers to the Christian life as war. This war is between Satan, our flesh, and our spirit that has been made new in Christ. As long as we live on earth, we will encounter temptation. Never think we are beyond temptation or sin (see 1 Corinthians 10:12-13).
Secondly, our passage tells us God does not tempt us. Temptation comes from two sources—Satan and our fleshly desires. In this passage James deals with the fleshly desires. We are never told to “resist” temptation that comes from the flesh. We “resist the devil” (James 4:7) but we must “refocus” if we are to defeat the temptations of our flesh.
You can’t defeat a thought by trying to resist the thought—that only intensifies the thought. One man said, “Whatever you resist, persist.” You must turn your attention to something else. Change the mental channel.
We all need to realize that whatever gets our attention gets us!
The word picture that James is using in a passage today is of a fisherman using bait to catch fish. The bait disguises the hook that traps the fish.
As a child my granddad would take me and my brother fishing down at a pond on his farm. There were catfish in that pond. He taught us to hunt for worms to use for bait because that is what catfish like. Grandpa taught us how to attach the worm to the hook so the fish couldn’t see the hook but only the worm.
We would throw our fishing line in the water with the hook, worm, and a bobber that would float on the surface. When the catfish began to nibble on the worm the bobber would begin to move up and down. At the right moment we learned to pull on the fishing pole just as the fish was taking a bite. The hook would catch in the mouth of the catfish, and we would have fried fish for dinner.
Satan knows what our flesh is attracted by. He will dangle that attraction in front of us to get us to nibble. Our fleshly desire drags us away and we get hooked. Nobody means to become addicted to drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling, or any other sin. We get hooked because we play around with the bait.
Instead, we have to put our attention on something else. I like the words of Job, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman” (Job 31:1). The decision was pre-made.
David prayed in Psalm 119:32, “Turn my eyes from worthless things.”
We could all pray this prayer — “turn my eyes from worthless things.”
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please help me to “turn my eyes from worthless things.” Help me to keep my focus on You and Your will for my life. Forgive me for nibbling on the bait of the flesh.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”
Holy Spirit help me to keep my eyes off worthless things