When Temptation Knocks

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." - James 1:12

That voice again. Can you hear it? Just behind you, in your right ear. You feel your stomach clench, and your heart begin to pound. Your fingers quiver.

You have a choice.

Turn the computer off, or keep looking.

Answer the question honestly, or make up a story.

Pull away from her, or deepen the embrace.

Walk away, or left hook him.

There are so many forms of temptation. Usually it starts quietly, a little knock on the door. A few days later, it becomes more insistent. A few weeks go by, and the pounding is so powerful, you cannot lock the door. It is the voice that gently drags us away, and then it intensifies until a day does not go by without the perilous screech of that enticement, drowning out all common sense and hope for freedom.

Temptation becomes addiction; addiction becomes enslavement, and you are impossibly bound to it. You become lost, apathetic, and you blindly cling to the thing that enslaves you. Finally Satan drives a wedge between you and the One who loves you more than anything - Jesus.

The year 2012 was one of the worst and best years of my life. I began the year hopeful for a future, excited about life, and full of wonder at the world around me.

Then temptation knocked.

It started quietly, and I became curious. The knocking became louder over the weeks until I finally gave in. At first it was all very thrilling, exciting. But then I began to descend, spiralling down faster and faster. It was a mere three months until I found myself in the depths of despair, wondering what had become of my life, what had become of me. I couldn't recognize myself when I looked in the mirror. I was a enslaved, chained, and locked in a prison cell without any light or hope.

Broken I came to the foot of the Cross - the ultimate symbol of complete love and sacrifice.

Jesus began to transform me. He freed me from my chains, and brought me out of the darkness I had lived in. His love overwhelmed me, and I chose to follow Him no matter the cost.

That would be a nice way to end this 'blog post. I would love to tell you that I have been free of temptation since. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

For about a year I found myself bathed in God's peace, living released of my chains. I smiled, glowed and served Him with a passion I had never known before. The door to temptation was locked.

The thing about temptation is, even when the door is locked, it will come wandering by again and attempt a light knock, just testing the waters. It might not seem like much, but that light knock can capture one's attention in a heartbeat.

It captured mine.

And so the struggle against temptation began again.

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." - James 1:14-15

I was so close to reaching an emotional death. I felt alone, unworthy, lacking, broken. I thought I had beat my temptation, and then it reared its ugly head again.

But Jesus.

That is the beauty of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. Even in the darkest times, He does not abandon us.

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." - Deuteronomy 31:6

God is with us, even when we are tempted, and He will not allow us to be tempted beyond our capacity to resist.

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

At this point it is important to note that when you are enslaved by your temptation, you are giving it power in your life and therefore it becomes an idol. It is so important to flee from idolatry ("Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry" - 1 Corinthians 10:14) because idolatry separates us from our heavenly Father. It becomes a wedge driven between us and our Creator.

Temptation comes directly from Satan, whose goal is to break the relationship that God has with us. One of his greatest tools of deception is temptation, and we know this because God does not tempt any man ("Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." - James 1:13)

But "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning." - James 1:17

This is exciting, because if all good things come from God, then freedom from our slavery comes from God. When we believe on Jesus and take hold of His promises; when we resist temptation and bury ourselves in God's word, we will be brought out of darkness. God cannot lie ("That by two immutable (unchanging) things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us..." - Hebrews 6:18) and His word will never change ("So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." - Isaiah 55:11) so if He says he cannot lie and He will set us free, we will be freed ("Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever commiteth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son (Jesus) abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." - John 8:34-36).

You can give Jesus the key to the door which temptation knocks at. It isn't easy, you have to resist, you have to walk away from the door because you can take the key back from Jesus at any time. He does not control us, and He gives us free will. It is so easy to fall into temptation's trap, and it will not be overcome immediately. But we are more than overcomers when we rest in Jesus' love and give Him the key ("Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." - Romans 8:37).

That voice again. Can you hear it? Just behind you, in your right ear. You feel your stomach clench, and your heart begin to pound. Your fingers quiver.

You have a choice.

Will you allow Jesus to take over, to help you overcome your temptation, will you give Him the key?

Or will you unlock the door, just one more time?