By Gina Caswell Kelly
Long years ago, my grandson, who is now 17, did something that he was not supposed to do. I know you are thinking, what are the odds? He and I were discussing what he had done. I was explaining to him that sometimes we do something we were not supposed to do, because the devil is tempting us. And we can ask God to help us to not do what the devil says. I told him, “Next time you are tempted to do something wrong, ask God to help you not do it.” The next thing I know, he is running into the other room, yelling at his brother, “Guess what! I am tempted!!”
Well, maybe he did not grasp everything I was trying to teach him, but the fact is that he was right. He was tempted and he is still tempted. We all are. We are tempted everyday to do things we shouldn’t do. The devil is very real and he knows well what our weak spots are and that is where he tempts us. He doesn’t tempt me to steal or to kill. He knows I would never do that. But he knows that I tend be easily distracted at times, so he runs shiny things through the room so I will lose my focus. There are other areas of my life where he is working hard to get me off track. I know you are the same.
We do have a weapon when the devil comes “a calling.” Just like I told B when he was five years old, we can ask God to help us resist the temptations of the world. He is standing ready to help us. We can also try to keep ourself from those areas where we know temptation is. If you are trying to lose weight, do you go window shopping at a candy store? If you are trying to save money, do you open up the Amazon app? Some of the responsibility lies on our shoulders to keep ourselves out of harms way. But either way, God offers us strength and courage to resist the temptations that come our way.
In Hebrews, Paul writes about how we have a God who can sympathize with our weaknesses because He, Himself was tempted when He lived on earth as Jesus, yet He had no sin. Being tempted is not a sin. Giving in to temptation is. Paul writes, “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” See what He is saying? We can be confident in the fact that in God’s arms we will find mercy and grace in our time of need.
So, if you, like little bitty Braylon and big strong Braylon today, are tempted, remember the confidence that is ours as children of God and stand strong agains the devil. It will make a difference!
