Temptation

“Because He himself suffered when he was tempted,

he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Hebrews 2:18

There is great strength found in this verse and available to the follower of Christ. Note that it declares in part the words “…when he was tempted…” and not “when he sinned…”. You see Jesus knows what it means to be tempted and yet to overcome that temptation without sinning. Armed with that understanding we can call out to him at those moments of temptation to receive the strength from his Spirit to overcome the temptation. He is on your side and has provided you the power to overcome. Don’t surrender to sin – instead call out to him in that moment of temptation and know the victory over sin that he has provided.  

James 4:2 tells us:

 “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.” If we combine the thought conveyed in this scripture with Hebrews 2:18 from above we have a powerful combination that is further reinforced through Jesus’ teaching on prayer to the disciples “…and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…”

There is a way out of temptation but we do not have it if we do not ask for it. If we do not ask for it we must then challenge ourselves with this question. What appeals to me more, the temporary satisfaction I get from yielding to the temptation of sin or being like Christ?

“Let a man examine himself…”