Tuesday, April 12, 2016

School of Temptation

Do you ever wonder why temptation doesn't just flee? Why do we have to continually choose to stand against it?

Judges 3:1&2 tells us "These are the nations (temptations) that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan.  He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle."

As a mom, I pray all the time that my children (spouse and self too) would be "easily entreated."  You see, I don't like trials and I don't want to go through them.  I just want to hear the Lord's voice and stay on His best path for my life to bring fruit to His kingdom.

The Israelites had a pattern, called the "sin cycle" that went something like this:

1.  The generation that saw His rescuing hand worshipped Him and kept His commands.
2.  The next generation, who didn't have that first hand knowledge, started to compromise.
3.  They started intermingling and worshipping other gods.
4.  God sent His punishment, usually in the form of an oppressor, to subdue them.
5.  They cried out to the real God for help and God sent them a rescuer.
6.  That generation followed Him.  Repeat cycle.

God, in His wisdom knows our human nature.  If our lives were easy, battle free, we too would grow complacent in our determination to set ourselves apart for Him.  Likewise, when we go through trials, our children see first hand how we handle it.  They see us on our knees and in the Word. They see us seeking His face.  Then they see His deliverance! Our children are learning the art of warfare, which they will pass on to their children, and so on.

God's plan is for us to be sharp, persistent and victorious. The trials will continue in the life, until we enter in to His final rest for us, but they are purposeful and He promises (1 Cor 10:13) He will not give us more than we can handle.


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