Most Christians know that the devil prowls like a roaring lion waiting to devour someone and that we ought to resist tempation and flee from the devil. When we are weary, that is much easier said than done. But thanks be to God that in our weariness we have hope in Christ and that hope is what we can cling to when our weariness has us more prone to get irritable, anxious, unsensible, etc.
By God’s common grace, everyone including unbelievers have a basic sense of God’s morality written on their hearts (see Romans 1:20), but as a child of God adopted into His family you have a special grace that is showered upon you. One of those graces is the ability, empowered by the Holy Spirit indwelling you, is to resist the temptation to sin not that you would never sin but that we would sin less as we grow in conformity to our Saviour.
There are two ways that we are tempted — by the devil and his minions and by our own flesh with the remaining sin which is in us until we are in Heaven. Temptation itself is not sinful. Jesus was tempted yet he never sinned. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan is the god of this world who blinds unbelievers to the light of The Gospel and John 8:44 tells us that he is the father of lies and tempts us to buy into the lie that we ‘just can’t help it’ when we sin. But scripture tells us that we are no longer slaves to sin but to Christ who bought us with the highest price because He loves us. Scripture also tells us that God always provides His children with a way out, a way to flee from the devil’s deceptions.
“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)
Don’t take the bait in your weariness to sin in your anger, pride, self-condemnation or what have you. Romans 12:21 tells us to not be overcome with evil, but overcome it with good. God provides a way out of temptation and He provided The Way. We overcome temptation with the truth of The Gospel and our identity in Christ and the more we are conformed to His image the more we are drawn to the things of God and repelled by things of this dark world. Because of Jesus’ perfect sinless life, suffering and death on the cross and victorious resurrection we are a new creation. We can walk in the reality of the newness of life given to us by our Saviour (see Romans 6), not because we are modifying our behavior to walk this out, but because we are so enamoured with the miracle of our salvation that the gratitude for God’s gracious gift — eternal security — is transforming us day by day to walk in the joy, peace, confidence, and wisdom that we have because we are so aware of Jesus being the limitless source of all that is good and righteous. And when we do sin, it is with a contrite heart that we confess to God and ask for fruit in our repentance.
Questions to ask yourself:
- What are some obvious ways that you are being tempted this week?
Prayer Prompt:
Ask God to protect you from temptations whether from the devil or of our own flesh. Ask God to illuminate to you deeper truths of Romans 6 so that you may resist such things not by your own willpower but by the power of The Holy Spirit as you walk in the reality of your newness in Christ.