Daily devotional, August 19, 2024
The exit
"Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted."
Hebrews 2:18
My mom always reminded me to look for the exits every time I enter an unfamiliar place. She said I have to be aware of these areas so that during an emergency, I would know where to go. And so, I have been doing that ever since, and I religiously listen to safety instructions and read and reread safety manuals when traveling.
Such diligence when it comes to finding safety exits should be the same amount of diligence we should exercise each time we are tempted to sin. We have to find the means to get away from our temptations and triggers so that we do not offend God and hurt others. And the best way is by seeking God’s help through prayer.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15
The Bible assures us that every temptation we face is commensurate to our ability to overcome it. Scriptures say that God has thoughtfully laid these out to hone our character, and so as we face the temptation to sin, He provides us a way to totally avoid it if only we will allows ourselves to choose to do the right thing.
“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
But human beings that we are, in the fallen world where we exist, we are bound to fall short of His expectations. In his letter to the early believers, St. Paul the Apostle tells us that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But even in this reality, God has made allowances for us.
The bible assures us that if we only humbly admit our fault to the Lord, repent on it, and sincerely ask for His forgiveness and mercy, He will purify us from the filth of the sin we got tempted of committing.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9
And so we are being called to a life of continuous repentance. Since it is inevitable for us to sin no matter how hard we try, we are being called to ask the Lord for His forgiveness, every single day. In the Lord’s prayer, which Jesus Himself taught us to pray everyday, it was said:
"Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Matthew 6:11-13
Such lovely prayer tells us that the Lord is open to forgiving our trespasses EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. And that we are to pray that He will protect us from being tempted and deliver us from the bad things that could happen. Indeed, we have a faithful, loving, and gracious Heavenly Father who looks forward to blessing and forgiving us daily.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23
So whenever we feel like we are struggling with temptation to sin, we must discipline ourselves to find the way out. Bible scholars say the struggle itself is a good sign, as it means we are aware that we should follow the Lord’s way. And so let us not waste the struggle of our flesh and will, and take it to another level, which is to find a way to escape the temptation to commit sin.
For instance, it can be done by pausing a moment before saying a hurtful word, comeback or response to a tactless comment. It could mean memorizing a helpful bible verse beforehand that could keep us from sinning. It could mean taking a break in another room to avoid yelling at the children. Or it could mean removing apps on the phone that causes us to lie, be covetous, be proud, or become financially undisciplined. It could also mean a physical reminder in our phone or wall to submit to authorities like the husband, the boss, or to someone in a leadership position.
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
The best way though it to remain spiritually disciplined by grounding ourselves in our relationship with God, and love for His word. When we continue to pray to Him everyday, meditate on the bible and what it means to us, and study it with fellow believers, we get to be stronger against temptation. Apart from the Lord helping us to endure, we will also be blessed with accountability partners through our church community who could help keep us in check.
"The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment."
2 Peter 2:9
We should not give up on ourselves because the Lord is not giving up on us when it comes to our sanctification process. He gave us the power to be good and obedient when we surrendered our life to Him and became His children. Let us not forget that our mighty God can transform us to become the person we want to be, all we have to do is to ask Him to helps us.
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
1 John 4:4
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Matthew 4:1-11 and Hebrews 2:14-18 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: How are you handling the temptation to sin? DO you rely on your own power to avoid it or do you seek God’s help?
Conversation with the Lord: _ Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the ability to withstand temptation. Thank you for giving us your words, and allowing us to strengthen ourselves in You. Help us to become better people my Lord, and allow us to continuously seek You and Your words every single day. Amen.
