Good morning. There is a story of a young lad who saved his money for most of a summer to buy a new baseball glove. He only needed a few more dollars, and he had some lawn mowing jobs lined up, so he felt pretty good about things. As he counted his savings for the umpteenth time, he knew it would be close, so he began to pray: “Dear Lord, please help me raise the rest of the money. I sure do want that ball glove, so I can’t have anyone change their mind about my mowing for them. And oh yeah, dear God, please give the ice cream truck a flat tire or something, ‘cause I sure can’t have him come down my street tomorrow.”
Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying, “I can resist anything but temptation.”
Fortunately, God promises us His presence. We needn’t worry about walking the dark streets of temptation alone.
In his letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul gives us reassurance about temptation. 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
“There is nothing new under the sun” king Solomon wrote so long ago, and I do believe he was right. The enemy pushes the same buttons, employs the same lies and tricks, and poses in the same disguises as he always has. What was tempting to Moses continues to be a problem for you and I. But God is faithful. This passage assures us that whatever the temptation or scheme might be, God will not allow us to be overpowered. God will always give us an avenue of escape if we ask for it. But that is the key, isn’t it? We have to want to escape. We need to ask our Father for His presence and protection, and ask our Lord to show us the way out of whatever difficulty we have found ourselves in.
I would like to share a fairly lengthy quote on the subject of temptation, and what is one of those frequently used “buttons” the enemy like push to encourage our failures. “Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, “Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody.” … [My dark side says,] I am no good… I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen
His point is that when we fail to remember that we are the beloved of God, we may fall prey to the whispers of the enemy. Those whispers tell us that we are not worthy of such love. It is too easy to believe that we are not worthy of the love of God, I mean after all, He is holy, and we are…trying to be holy, and failing pretty much every day. The enemy whispers that we are not worthy of God’s love. Such a thing must be impossible. After all, God knows us as we truly are. God knows our faults and our failures. How can our holy God love anyone who is so broken and soiled?
Quite frankly, the enemy makes a fairly compelling argument. We aren’t worthy. But our worthiness has never been the point. It is the awesome nature of our loving God that is the point. It is His glory that becomes our light. It is His righteousness that becomes our fate. It is His salvation that becomes our destiny. Not because we are worthy, but because He loves us that much.
So, whatever the temptation, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Whatever lies the enemy is trying to sell you today, find the truth in His Word. Whatever failures you find yourself remembering, remember instead that God so loved you that He gave His Son to save you. He must think you are worthy!
Now that is a thought worthy of a smile!
Vern