“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” — 1 Corinthians 10:13
Temptation Will Be a Lifelong Battle
I had just finished lunch with an athlete who had experienced victory over his drug addiction for several years. As we left the restaurant he said, “Call me in 30 minutes to be sure I got home.” Noticing the quizzical look on my face, he added, “On my way home I will pass the place where I used to make my drug buys; it still pulls on me.”
Whether it’s a serious addiction or a pattern of gossip, sin habits die slowly. It is common to assume that any temptation is an easy victory with God’s help. Instead, we are surprised by how often we choose sin.
Satan, the deceiver, is alive and active. He appeals to our natural desires to offer counterfeits of what God has promised to us. He attempts to pull us off course by drawing us into the values of the world system around us.
The good news is this: When a person becomes a Christian, the power of sin is broken. While the presence of sin remains, we no longer have to sin.
God has provided great help in the Scriptures. They instruct us in how to respond to various temptations: what to resist, what to flee and what to fight.
God places the Holy Spirit in our lives when we become a Christian. He reveals where we are vulnerable. He empowers us to reject temptation (Galatians 5:16) and reminds us of God’s grace when we fail.
We face lifetime battles with temptation, but there is victory by God’s grace and strength.
— Tom Petersburg, CatapultMinistries.org
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