Gina Caswell Kelly
Have you ever been tempted to do something you shouldn’t? Of course the answer is yes! We are all tempted at times, usually several times a day! Or a minute!!
When my grandson Braylon was about five, he did something he was not supposed to do. What are the odds! I was talking to him about what he had done. I explained to him that the devil tempts us to do those things we shouldn’t. I said, “The next time you feel tempted, ask God to help you to not do what you are being tempted to do.” The next thing I know, he is running across the house shouting to his brother. “Guess what! I am tempted!”
Well, maybe he did not quite grasp all I was telling him, but maybe he caught enough to know that there is a way out of temptation.
It is hard to always do what is right. We all have our areas of weakness. The devil knows this. And, if you, for one second think the devil is not real, you have another think coming, because he is, and he is evil and he is roaming this earth right now!
But he does know our weaknesses. He hits us there. He knows I am not going to be tempted to kill or steal. He does not even bother with that. He knows that lying is not too high on my list of weaknesses. What he does know is that I like to eat stuff that is not good for me, so he makes it look really good to me. He knows I have a tendency to want to put things off to the last minute, so he distracts me with all kinds of shiny things to keep me off task.
You get the point. The devil is smart. He is shrewd. He knows where and when to attack, but my God is smarter. And He is stronger. And He truly cares about me. The more time I spend with God, the less time I spend listening to the lies of the devil.
In Hebrews, Paul writes about how we have a God who can sympathize with our weaknesses, because He was also tempted when He lived on earth as Jesus. Being tempted is not a sin. Giving in to temptation is. But, Paul follows this up with hope. In Hebrews 4:16, he writes, “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” See what he is saying? We can be confident in the fact that in God’s arms we will find mercy and grace in our time of need.
So, if you find yourself, like Braylon, tempted, then remember the confidence that is ours as children of God and stand strong against the devil. It will make a difference!
