Tormented by Temptation

None of us is exempt from temptation. Not even our blessed, sinless Lord was excused. It will dog us until we enter our heavenly city of refuge, where nothing that defiles can follow us in. Or to put it another way, until we are, as the Irish say, “Safe Home.”  

Temptation comes in many forms, but has only one objective: to break our fellowship with God. Therefore temptation never comes from God; He tries us, but never tempts us. James tell us, “…every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”  

Our Tempter is a solicitor. And all the wares this street vender peddles are evil. No matter how they appear, even if they’re good and pleasant. Ask Eve if you have any doubts. To be tempted with evil is an agony of soul; but to be tempted with good is even a greater a torture. The devils dainty delicacies are much more difficult to resist than his depraved delights. It’s green grass that lures the sheep to stray, not the parched.

It has always amazed me how that after a temptation is refused, something extraordinarily good always follows it. I agree with C.S. Lewis when he said, “A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.” “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him…and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him…And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit…”