“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me,’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, when desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.” James 1:13-15

Temptation Itself Is Not Sin

Temptation is part of everyday life. I don’t think there’s a day that will go by when we won’t experience the temptation to sin in a variety of different ways—like the temptation to stay angry at someone, to give up, to worry or complain, or to not keep our word to someone who’s depending on it.

Temptation is endless. And we’ve got our hands full resisting it. Temptation itself is not sin. It only becomes sin when we enter into that temptation. God has worked in us the fruit of self-control, so when we’re tempted to do wrong things, we can make right choices. But if we want to be successful in resisting temptation, we need to know some things about ourselves.

Perhaps you are like me: I have a tendency to deceive myself by glossing over areas of weakness in my life. It seems like the devil knows me a lot better than I know myself. But we can gain an advantage over him by studying our behavior and dealing with our weaknesses.

One my greatest weaknesses is being impatient when things are not going as smoothly or as quickly as I’d like. Another is the desire for sweets. Sugar has always given me an instant feeling of relief when difficulty or stress shows up. These are temptations I need to put extra effort into resisting, and although they have gotten easier, they haven’t completely gone away.

Think about it. What would happen if people prayed on a regular basis that they wouldn’t overeat at meals? What would happen if people who know they have a bad temper would pray on a regular basis, “God, give me grace to put a tight rein on my tongue and stay in peace today?”

I honestly believe that this is one of the most beneficial things we can do as believers: Pray ahead of time; pray often about our areas of weakness; and understand that some things we will have to pray about for the rest of our lives.

One of the times that Satan will come and try to tempt us is when we’re overly tired, when we’ve been working too hard or when we’ve gotten out of balance with priorities. There are four things in my life that I try to avoid: being hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Beware of being in any of these fragile states of mind, because they will trip us up and we won’t realize it until it is too late. Boom! We have allowed that desire to be conceived and the offspring becomes sin.

The dreaded end of that scripture is one of the scariest in life—death is knocking at our door. This is the moment I get on my knees and confess, repent (change direction), and ask for and receive forgiveness. I have learned not to only resist in my flesh, but to ask for God’s help. I need to do this more than I like to admit.

Always remember this: God is faithful to make good out of every trial we go through. We don’t need to settle for a life of struggle, barely getting through each day. Jesus gave His life to give us so much more than that!

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word that tells me whenever I am tempted, You will provide a way out of it. I love knowing that You are with me through it all. Amen.