Thoughts on temptation

Monday, March 30, 2009

I am learning not to be surprised when I am suddenly surrounded by temptation, and my heart wants to dive in all the way. Why should I be surprised? It is the lot of men to be tempted by Satan, and even more so, it is the lot of men to give in to temptation. Even those who have committed to resist temptation and follow God, temptation some times prevails because parts of that old, evil heart, still remain.

When temptations come, and I succumb, it only tells me “yep, part of that bad heart is still there”.


All I can do is recognize what is true: Though God has given me a new heart, there are still remains of that old, evil heart that lurk within me. I must not ignore it and pretend that it’s not there, because in doing so, I am a liar, and I am calling God a liar. I am being counter-productive in every way imagineable.

What can I do? All I can do is confess it. I have been promised that when I confess my sins, God is faithful and just (which means, He will do it every time) to forgive me of my sins. Not only that, but as I am honest at confessing and continually repenting – that is, desiring to not to fall again - God is cleansing my heart. I have been promised that “if you sin, we have an advocate with the Father (who?), Jesus Christ!” (1 John 1:9, 2:1).

When I fall to temptation, pouting is not the answer. Feeling bad for myself does not help. Giving in to the sin will only destroy me. Ignoring it is like calling God a liar, which really just makes me a liar. (What is the truth I am lying about? It’s that I have no sin, when in fact, I really do.) And I can’t afford to just sit around and feel guilty, like God hates me. I’ve got to confess it to God, and repent of it. To continue walking in the light, so that the more I walk, the more I am able to examine myself in the light, since before, I couldn’t really see myself in the mirror in the darkness that I was walking in. But when I walk in the light of truth, I can make a fair assessment of what I see, give it over to God, and trust that He will continually cleanse me and change me, as I am daily repenting and submitting to Him.

I also need to confess it to others (James 5). There is some kind of healing that seems to take place when I am honest with others who are fighting temptation as well. I can’t explain it, only that it must be how the Holy Spirit works through people to bring cleansing and renewal to His church on a regular, daily basis. I have the hardest time with this, and don’t like confessing my sins, but it must happen if healing is going to happen in me any time soon. Otherwise, you end up with a church full of people not confessing their faults to one another, no one is being healed, and no real fellowship is taking place. But oh my, the Holy Spirit is so present in a group of people who are confessing their faults to another, and the fellowship is sweet as it is and refreshing.

When temptation comes, don’t be caught of guard. If you fall to the temptation, don’t be surprised or startled. Just take it as an indicator of what still remains in your heart, confess it to God, repent before God, and continue walking in the light, in obedience. By the grace of God, we’ll make it out of this thing spotless and innocent! “He who has started a good work in you will finish it.”