Oct 17, 2018
Because Jesus himself
suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Heb 2:18
Temptation doesn’t
lead us to sin, we sin by not seeking Jesus in the temptation.
You may not know this, or want to hear it, but you’re not
strong enough to defeat temptation.
Decades ago, a comedian by the name of Flip Wilson coined a
phrase: “The devil made me do it.”
People laughed and he used it for incredible parodies to show how we
tend to excuse ourselves for sinful behaviors.
Unfortunately, it was both true and terrifying. The devil is excellent at tempting us, and we
let him dictate our actions way too much.
The challenge of temptation is not having the strength or
discipline to overcome it ourselves, but having the humility and dependence to
seek Jesus in the midst of temptation.
Jesus is the only one who gives us the power to overcome temptation –
whether that’s through His intervention, or His instruction, or His
discipline. Sometimes He works through
the help of others, and sometimes He does the work Himself, but you and I don’t
overcome temptation without Him.
By the same token, we also can’t blame the devil for our
failures. It’s our choice whether we
pursue the help of Jesus or not. We have
the ability to call on Jesus to help us.
We can pursue His Word to teach us, and follow His example to lead
us. It’s still our choice whether
temptation is permitted to rule over us, or whether Jesus is. Jesus is ready to help, but we must make the
choice. Jesus knows how to win!
Best of all, Jesus endured temptation just like we do, so He
knows how we feel. That’s as important
as anything else about Jesus. He
understands our struggles, because He faced them. Jesus knows our pain and loneliness, because
He endured it like us. That makes
seeking Jesus much easier, because we don’t just pursue a far-away God who is
disconnected from our situation, we call on a friend who understands our
situation. Getting Jesus to help is like
calling a sponsor or phoning a friend.
We get help (not a lecture).
Get it clear. We can’t
overcome temptation on our own. We are
just as susceptible to sin as every other person around us. Our only answer is to call on Jesus, and get
His help. He has the power to overcome
it with us, or take it from us, but we must choose to pursue His help.
So what are you waiting for?
Seek the help of Jesus, and you’ll have a friend who can help you win!
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