Daily Devotional

-January 19, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Victory Over Temptation-

“There is no temptation overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may bear it.”

(1 Corinthians 10:13).

God’s desire for us that we be victorious over temptation and sin. The devil is behind all temptations, in fact he is called the tempter. The uses our sinful flesh against us. He makes every temptation seem so good. He did this for the first time with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The devil knows our weaknesses and seeks to exploit them. God never tempts us to do evil in any way, shape, or form. James 1:13-16 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

In the preceding verse 12, we are warned how susceptible and vulnerable we are, Paul wrote, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest we fall.” There are three important things we notice in our verse today:

• Temptations are common to man – We are not the only ones to experience temptations, in fact every human being experiences them. The Greek word Paul uses speaks of both trials and temptations. Unsaved people have no victory over trials or temptations.

• But God is faithful, who will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able – God knows us through and through and how much we can handle; and He will not allow us more than that. He wants us to be overcomers.

• But with temptation will also make the way of escape, that we may be able to bear it – In every temptation, God sends the way of escape. For Joseph, he fled the temptations with Potiphar’s wife. Though he was falsely accused and was thrown into prison, he maintained his innocence before God and man. In 1 Timothy 6:11, Paul wrote, “But you, O man of God, flee these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” The best thing for us in the midst of a temptation is to flee. In the times where that is not possible, we must pray for God’s help.

God’s will is that we may be able to bear it. Another word for bear is endure. When Peter began to sink in the water when walking on the water to Jesus, looking at the winds and waves, he simply cried out, “Lord, save me.” When we are tempted or face trials, we should immediately call out to the Lord for His aid.

Let us remember the commonness of temptations and trials, how faithful God is not to allow them to be more than we can handle, and that God provides the way of escape for us. He wants us to be victorious over temptation and sin, and to benefit from our trials in our lives.

Have a blessed day walking closely with the Lord in victory. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean