Resisting Temptation

READ: MATTHEW 4:1-11; 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13; HEBREWS 4:14-16

It’s happened again. You promised yourself you wouldn’t sin in that way, but you have. For weeks you’ve been struggling with combating this temptation, but you keep falling for it. At times like these, it’s easy to think that God is furious with us. After all, He’s a just and holy God. Isn’t He sick and tired of this?

While it’s true God is a holy God, He’s not unaware of our struggle. When Jesus was on this earth, He was tempted to sin too. Jesus is fully God and fully human, and He’s well acquainted with the pressure the devil puts on us. At one point, the enemy told Jesus to turn stones into bread after He hadn’t eaten for forty days. A piece of bread must’ve sounded like a gourmet feast! While Jesus didn’t fall for the lies, He still needed to resist the temptation.

Temptation is hard to deal with. Nobody would deny it, not even God. But Hebrews 4:16 says we can approach God’s throne and find grace and mercy to help us. On our own, it’s impossible to resist the devil’s bait, but God will help us conquer the lure of whatever sin we’re trying to fight.

Because Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and rise up from the grave, He’s not just sympathetic toward us—He’s empathetic (Hebrews 4:15). Being empathetic means being able to identify with or understand another’s situation or feelings. So, as we’re struggling with temptation, we don’t need to worry about God being stand-offish and without pity. Instead, He’s always empathetic, and He’s ready to help us whenever we call on Him. • Morgan A. Mitchell

• Have you ever viewed God as being uncaring when you were struggling with sin? A lot of us assume this is how God feels about us when we’re tempted or when we’re sinning, but He is always filled with compassion for us. He loves us so much that Jesus died for us so we could be forgiven for all our sins— past, present, and future. How could remembering that Jesus empathizes with us, and He wants to help us, change the way we struggle with sin?

• Do you think God will help you with the sins you struggle with? He absolutely will! Consider taking some time to be totally honest with Him and ask for His mercy, grace, and help.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)