We, as humans, have a deep desire to please ourselves more so than anyone else, much less the Lord. This is why Satan uses our deepest desires and stirrings to tempt us into sin. He uses our desire for love, to tempt us into sex before marriage. He uses our desire to forget the bad thoughts and feelings, to tempt us into getting intoxicated. He uses our pain to tempt us into hurting ourselves or others. He uses our desire to be the boss, to tempt us into sinning against God to prove that He can’t control us.
Should our desires get the better of us, and lead us to follow the temptations to sin, we fall into Satan’s trap.
He wants us to believe that our desires are okay; they’re natural. They may be natural, but natural isn’t necessarily good. This is why the Lord created laws: so that we may follow them instead of our natural, sinful desires. However, here we are, falling for Satan’s lies and sneaky ways, because we like to ignore the little voice in our head and feed the little devil on our shoulder instead.
When I feel the devil tempting me to sin
And I want so badly to feed my every desire;
When I don’t feel the heat of the fire…
I know I must rest in the Lord.
A. C. McGuire, Rest In The Lord
Temptation is always standing on our doorstep, knocking on the door, waiting for us to answer.
Temptation comes to test our obedience to the Lord and our self-control. It comes to test our faith; it comes to lead us right into hell with Satan. And without the Lord in our lives to gives us hope and strength, hell is exactly where we will end up… For without the Lord, we will continue to follow our “natural” desires and fall into the temptations that Satan leaves us. But as Christians – as ones who believe Jesus is our Lord and Saviour – He lends us His strength, His power and the hope that lies within Him only.
Many of us might believe that we’re being tempted beyond what we can bear, but as Christians, that’s a lie. All humans are tempted to the same extent, but God will never let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. He provides a way out of our temptations so we may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). All we have to do is walk with Him in faith, away from our temptation, and rely on His strength in our weaknesses. As humans, our weaknesses are our desires. And without faith that the Lord will deliver us from the evil one, we will fail.
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
Romans 8:13
When we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we have an obligation to Him.
We have an obligation to live according to the word of God, and to do all things for His glory. As long as we walk in the Spirit, taking hold of our selfish desires, living controlled and disciplined lives, we will fulfill our obligation to Him.
So long as we remember that Hell is serious; it’s hot; and we will burn for all of eternity… We will remember to rest in the Lord and follow His commands for us. When we’re born again in Christ Jesus, we are BORN AGAIN, brand new, as fresh creations. Our “natural” desires do not exist anymore, for we are now naturally of Christ. Remember that. God bless.
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