Temptation

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.

First of all, let me address a question. Why does God allow temptation?

Life, metaphorically speaking, is like a laboratory of faith. As you know, a lab is place for research, or rather testing of many experiments.. God tests us to confirm the strength of our faith and the sincerity of our commitment to him.. A fine example is when God tested Abraham (Gen. 22), where he was asked to sacrifice his only son, whom he became a father of at such an old age.. And he did so without any hesitation but in compliance with God's will.. And Abraham is the only person that God tested to such a degree where he was told to sacrifice his ONLY son, in context of the ultimate sacrifice that God sent for us - Jesus..

Nonetheless, we have to able to distinguish the great difference between testing and temptation. We know that God tempts no one, but rather Satan is the one who tempts.. However, God can use Satan's temptations to test us.. God redeems what Satan intended for evil and uses it to accomplish something good.. And that truly remarks God's grace for us.. And remember that Jesus himself was tested by God but his unwavering commitment to God's plan and word enabled him to triumph over Satan's temptations..

God may allow our faith to be tested on the path of spiritual success but we still, nevertheless, require God's grace and strength.. But why is it that Jesus, in Matthew 6:13, teaches us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation", and not "Lead us into temptation and give us strength to overcome it"? Not necessarily, Jeses linked "Lead us not into temptation" with "deliver us from the evil one". Thus, avoiding temptation means avoiding the devil's snares and entice us. Jesus wants us to see God as the one who delivers, and not the one who tempts. In our prayers, we should look to God as the source of victory over the evil one. God tests us, not that we might fall into sin, but in hope that we might experience his victory..

1 Peter 1:7 - These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed

Sin never quits. Not as long as this fallen world exists and our physical bodies remain. No, not until the final coming of God's kingdom. Sin will keep knocking at the door as long as we live in this broken, rebellious, twisted world. We are said to have "died to sin" (Romans 6:2), that sin's claim upon our lives has been broken. However, we do not have to give in to it as Jesus breathes his Spirit into us (Romans 8:14), giving us the power to resist sin's advances and live a strong, new life..But the whole idea sets on our choice of possessing the courage to ask for God's grace and to resist sin.. Every day, every moment of our lives.. But God's grace is enough, more than enough.. When we fail and do not choose to trust the Spirit to enpower us, we can confess our sins, receive forgiveness and keep moving forward.. And at the end of the days, when we are united with Christ, we will be totally free from sin's influence and grasp..

Back to our passage, God assures us that He is in total control and that temptation can make us stronger.. And God promises us that regardless of the degree of our temptations in life, He will not test us beyond what we are capable of or to the extent of which we cannot bear and resist.. He will not test us beyond our means, and God WILL never abandon us..He will always be with us, through our struggles and problems in life, shouldering our burdens, every moment of our life, and some will able to feel his presence and some will not, but God never fails to do so. Amen.