It is Martin Luther who said, “My temptations have been my master in divinity.” Every child of God is prone to temptation through the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh or pride of life.
Interestingly, every temptation is an opportunity to do good and develop character. On the path of spiritual maturity, it is a stepping-stone rather than a stumbling block. While temptation is Satan’s primary weapon to destroy you, God wants to use it to develop you.
But you can’t handle temptations well if you don’t understand how the devil uses it against you.
How Temptation Works
Satan creates temptation in four steps:
Step 1- He identifies a Desire inside of You
This desire may be good such as to be loved or sinful such as to get revenge, steal or kill. Temptation starts when Satan suggests through the thought process that you satisfy a legitimate need in a sinful way or give in to a sinful desire. Temptation doesn’t begin around us, but within us because what we conceive or think about often, we act upon. Your internal desire through your mind attracts you to the temptation.
Mark 7:21-23 says, “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within.”
Step 2-He creates Doubt in You
Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about the sin. Didn’t God mean this for someone else or some other occasion? Is it really sinful? He used this tactic on Eve when he asked, did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden.”
Step 3-He creates a Deception
God tells us that Satan is the father of lies, so he is incapable of speaking the truth. He replaces God’s truth with lies of half-truth. He told Eve, “you will not surely die.” Today, he tells us, “everybody is doing it,” “it will solve your problem,” “that’s the only way out,” “You can do it now and repent later.” “No one will ever know.’
Sadly, when we have engaged in these sins, we find his purported truth to be absolute lies. Eve found it out regrettably. Little sins don’t remain little.
Step 4- He creates Disobedience
This occurs when you’ve resolved to execute his suggestion. You act on the thought you’ve been toying with in your mind. Then the consequences and regrets follow.
Learn to understand the devil’s strategies and overcome his wiles.
Recommended Books:
The Irony of Love, Premarital and Extramarital Relationships
Stop Existing! Start Living!
Breaking the Hold of Self-Slavery
The Secret of Supernatural Power, Deliverance and Prosperity
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