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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Temptation

My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.
II Corinthians 12:9

After going through some difficult times in my life right now...I have found strength in this verse. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to pray for or even how to pray...after reading this verse it became more clear to me that God is aware of my weaknesses and knows how to work in my life despite what I may think is right. Being human has "entitled" me to my selfishness..my greed...and of course undying temptations. I had never thought deeply about how many consequences can come from the defeat of temptation until recently. What sparked this curiosity in me was a sermon I listened to at my parent's church a few Sundays ago titled "Is Anyone Listening...Overcoming Temptation." The pastor made me personally aware of certain temptations that were evident in my life that needed to be sorted out..if not to be done away with completely. Being a 23-year-old female who is just starting my life on my own and experiencing things that were not evident to me in my teens read a verse from the sermon notes that struck a chord in my heart:

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." 1 Corinthians 10:13

Anyone reading my blog today can go through past, present, or even future temptations and find this verse to be inspiring. With the knowledge that this verse gave me, I am now more aware that in the situations I am facing, I can look for the "way out." Should I not be able to find it so easily at the time I need to understand that "my time" is not the same as "God's time." There is always more at stake than you might think when facing tempation.
The pastor also mentioned that it is better to have never faced temptation than to have faced it and succeeded. This brief 'sidenote' from the pastor did not make sense to me until just recently when I had considered a tempting situation. "Should I go and have a good time...or should I just avoid it all cost?" Avoiding the situation at all cost has saved me from a guilty concious and disappointed friends. I am not 'preaching' to anyone simply because there is certainly no part of my life in which I can 'preach' from. The steps that I am putting forth in my life (from today forward) are also from the same sermon and I hope that you can utlize these in your life as well:

1. AVOID tempting situations
2. ADMIT where you struggle.
3. ACKNOWLEDGE Satan's influence.
4. Arm yourself with GOD'S WORD.
5. Accept God's DELIVERANCE.

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I am a 20-something young woman growing up and experiencing the things my mother warned me about...love, friendship, hard work, disappointment and success.