James 1:13

New American Standard Version

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

Pastor’s Paraphrase

          All of us will go through times of temptation, but when they come, we should never say, “This is the Lord’s fault! He is doing this to me!” You must understand that our righteous Heavenly Father can neither be tempted by evil and sin nor is He ever the author of temptation.

 “How does this help me become more like Him?”

          I am not much of a fisherman but I do understand one of the simplest and most basic elements of the sport – you want to bait the hook or use a lure that will appear attractive to the fish but disguise the reality of the hook hidden in it.  Fish aren’t very smart but even they would not bite if they knew what pain and struggle the hook imbedded in their mouth would bring.

          I have found that we sheep aren’t much smarter.  The enemy of our soul is constantly baiting the hooks of temptation in his attempts to reel us in and away from fellowship with and usefulness to the Lord.  If we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, he can’t have our soul but he can sure steal our joy.  He cannot kill us but his hooks of disguised temptation can rip through our spiritual lives and do great damage.

          We must never lose sight of where temptation comes from.  Sometimes in our efforts to play the “blame game”, we might even want to blame God for messes that we get ourselves into.  Illogical, isn’t it?  When we find ourselves suffering the consequences of bad choices, we have only two people to blame – ourselves and our spiritual adversary.  He baited the hook of temptation and we chomped down on it.  The Lord didn’t get us in those messes, we did it to ourselves.

          James wanted those early believers to understand the Father’s love for them and that He is the author of every good gift to our lives.  This does not mean that He will not discipline us when we need it nor does it imply that such discipline does not hurt.  However, His discipline stings only for a short while and the result is always for our good.

          Have you grumbled at God lately for something that you brought upon yourself?  Have you eased down into the slime of self-pity and whined to the Almighty about how pitiful and unfair your situation was?  It is time for us to get up, to grow up, and to put the blame where it belongs.  Grumbling and self-pity must be set aside before repentance and restoration can take their place. 

          Maybe you bit the hook but if you will quit thrashing about and come to the Father in repentance and surrender, He will take the hook out and help you to begin to heal.  He will help you next time, if you will listen to Him, to recognize that what looks so appealing and tantalizing is nothing more than the bait.  His Holy Spirit will give you the vision that comes from Scriptural discernment so that you will be wise enough not to fall for it again.

          The enemy won’t quit casting those temptations out there but we don’t have to keep falling for it again and again.  From tomorrow’s verses, He will give us wisdom and insight into how the enemy uses temptation in his efforts to defeat us.

“How should I pray for Him to change my life?”

Thank the Lord that He only desires for you to grow strong and wise and that He would never do anything that would bring harm to you.  Pray for His wisdom to understand and be alerted to the tactics of the enemy who wants only to bring pain and defeat.  Praise Him that the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit that He has placed within you is sufficient to recognize and withstand every temptation.

 END