HOW TO AVOID TEMPTATION ON A DAILY BASIS
This morning, my morning Bible verses in my daily devotional journal were from Matthew. This is a passage that I have read several times, and I have heard many sermons preached on these verses. But, for some reason, this morning I had a different takeaway and I wanted to share it with all of you. This morning it was the temptation issue that jumped out at me.
The verses are from when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples.
Matthew 26:39-41
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The things that I normally focused on, were that Jesus fell face down on the ground to pray. He was stressed, He knew what was before him, and He prayed HARD. Jesus asked to not have to go through the crucifixion and to be spared the torture that was coming. Then, He said that whatever the Lord willed, He would obey.
Then, I normally focus on what Jesus said to Peter and his disciples. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” I hear His frustration in that statement. Jesus is going to be crucified soon, and the men who He had spent the most time with couldn’t stay awake for one hour.
But, this morning, it was the very last part of the verses that hit me the hardest. It is a warning from Jesus to the disciples, but it also applies to me and you.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak! Yes, yes, and yes. Jesus is talking to me, even now as I am typing because this is a constant battle for me. I am willing, Lord, I am so willing!!! But, I am weak.
This is a very small example of how I was weak. When I was in Tennessee at my Mom’s over the summer, my daughter brought up a show called Designated Survivor. It was a series on ABC about the designated survivor in the government. A bomb killed the entire government staff during a Presidential speech, and the designated survivor became President of the US with no idea of what of how to run the government. The first two seasons were on ABC, but in the third season, it moved to Netflix and became one of their shows.
I binge-watched the first two seasons, and I was hooked. I loved the whole idea, and I wanted to see how everything played out. So, I was thrilled when they announced that season three was now live. I was still finishing up with the second season, so by the time that I finished with season two, the entire season three was already ready for me to watch.
I immediately noticed a HUGE difference between the two seasons. There was soooo much cussing and the subject matter was not what prime time television would air. I was uncomfortable…but I still watched. I complained…but I still watched. I was willing to quit watching…but I was weak. I wanted to see what happened, and so I watched.
I was almost relieved when season three ended and I didn’t have any more episodes to watch. I saw that season four is now available, but thankfully enough time has lapsed where I am no longer tempted.
Temptation comes at us from a lot of different sources. It can be innocent sources, such as watching a television show or a movie, but it is still temptation in some form.
I am so thankful that the Lord gave us instructions on how to avoid this pitfall. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. Be vigilant, be watchful, and pray when you slip up.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 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.
The Lord knows that we will be tempted, but these verses should give you some comfort.
James 1:13-18
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
No one is immune to temptations. Not Eve or Adam, not David, and especially not Job whose wife begged him to curse God. We will all have temptations, but like Job, we can choose to listen to Jesus and praise His wonderful name!
Have A Blessed Day!!!
Tania, do you have a special daily devotional “journal” that you could share with us? I’m always looking for more inspiration (in addition to the Bible) and truly appreciate your posts. Thank you.
Barbara, Brandy (a blog reader) sent me the Write the Word journal one year for Christmas and I loved it. I am on my 3rd one (there are several to choose from) and the one that I am using at the moment is on Cultivating Prayer. I buy mine on Amazon.
I agree with you. My favorite show was Suits. I watched on Amazon Prime. Every other word
was taking our Father’s name in vain for no reason at all . I had to ask myself would God want me to put up with this? I quit watching but had major withdrawals. Great show unnecessary language.
Thank you for your input on the show Designated Survivor. I felt the same way. It was like I watched 2 different shows with the same actors. I didn’t know Season 4 is on. I am curious to see if they toned things down. If not, I won’t be watching any longer. Thank you for your Sunday blogs. I look forward to it every week.
Dear Tania, what a great message on temptation you shared with us! As Believer’s we indeed must be very cautious as to what we view on TV, what we read and what we put in our lives. Your post today was a perfect example of how easy it is to fall into what the world is putting out there as “normal” and “ok”. While we don’t, as adults, have to watch only the Disney channel, it is amazing to me how 90% of the programs on TV & movies are constantly using God’s name so casually and frivolously and as curse words. It’s downright offensive! Thank you for speaking up and for your honestly about a subject that affects us all. I realize many people out there don’t understand why this is such a big deal, but it is and it’s important. Blessings to you.
Tania….God must be sending me a message. This is the same verse that I have been reading for weight loss support from the Bible. I am struggling and really not looking forward to all the temptations this holiday season. Although I don’t comment on each post I do read you faithfully. God bless. Kathy
Kathy, I love it when the Lord is sending messages. He may not verbally speak to us, but He does communicate. It is up to us to pay attention.
Good morning! I had to laugh after reading Diane’s comment as I was sitting here squinting too and didn’t even realize it until I read her comment. LOL Thanks for sharing this message today and I hope you have a blessed day 🙂
I am at a loss as to why that is happening. I haven’t changed anything with the format of the blog except for the size of the photos. Maybe the photos are so big that it makes the font look smaller. Lol!
Tania, Good morning and a good message this morning. Has anyone said anything about the font being smaller and hard to read since you have switched servers? I am having to get my face up close to the computer screen to read your blog now and just wondered if anyone else has said anything or is my age catching up with me finally? LOL Have a blessed Sunday.
Diane, I will have to look into that because I haven’t changed anything with the blog except the photo sizes. The way the notification email is delivered is the only thing that I have changed. The blog fonts should be the same. ?