The Purpose Driven Life, Chapter Twenty Six
Growing Through Temptation
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Every temptation is an opportunity to do good.
On the path to spiritual maturity, even temptation becomes a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block when you realize that it is just as much an occasion to do the right thing as it is to do the wrong thing. Temptation simply provides the choice. Every time you choose to do good instead of sin, you are growing in the character of Christ.
To understand this, you must first identify the character qualities of Jesus. One of the most concise descriptions of His character is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you're tempted to express the exact opposite quality.
God uses the opposite situation of each fruit to allow us a choice. You can't claim to be good if you've never been tempted to be bad. You can't claim to be faithful if you've never had the opportunity to be unfaithful. Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest; humility grows when we refuse to be prideful; and endurance develops every time you reject the temptation to give up.
All temptations follow the same four-step process. In step one, Satan identifies a desire inside of you. Temptation starts when Satan suggests (with a thought) that you give in to an evil desire, or that you fulfill a legitimate desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time. We think temptation lies around us, but God says it begins within us. If you didn't have the internal desire, the temptation could not attract you. Temptation always starts in your mind, not in circumstances.
Step two is doubt. Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about the sin: Is it really wrong? Did God really say not to do it? Didn't God mean this prohibition for someone else or some other time? Doesn't God want me to be happy?
Step three is deception. Anything he tells you will be untrue or just half-true. Satan offers his lie to replace what God has already said in His Word.
Step four is disobedience. You finally act on the thought you've been toying with in your mind. What began as an idea gets birthed into behavior. You give in to whatever got your attention.
Understanding how temptation works is in itself helpful, but there are specific steps you need to take to overcome it.
Refuse to be intimidated. In one sense you can consider temptation a compliment. Temptation is a sign that Satan hates you, not a sign of weakness or worldliness. It is also a normal part of being human and living in a fallen world. Don't be surprised or shocked or discouraged by it. Be realistic about the inevitability of temptation; you will never be able to avoid it completely. It is not a sin to be tempted. Temptation only becomes a sin when you give in to it. The closer you grow to God, the more Satan will try to tempt you.
Recognize your pattern of temptation and be prepared for it. There are certain situations that make you more vulnerable to temptation than others. Some circumstances will cause you to stumble almost immediately, while others don't bother you much. These situations are unique to your weaknesses, and you need to identify them because Satan surely knows them! He knows exactly what trips you up, and he is constantly working to get you into those circumstances. You should identify your typical pattern of temptation and then prepare to avoid those situations as much as possible.
Request God's help. God want you to ask him for assistance in overcoming temptation. When temptation strikes, you don't have time for a long conversation with God; you simply cry out. The Bible guarantees that our cry for help will be heard because Jesus is sympathetic to our struggle. He faced the same temptations we do. If God is waiting to help us defeat temptation, why don't we turn to him more often? Honestly, sometimes we don't WANT to be helped! We WANT to give in to temptation even though we know it's wrong. At that moment we think we know what's best for us more than God does. At other times we're embarrassed to ask God for help because we keep giving in to the same temptation over and over. But God never gets irritated, bored or impatient when we keep coming back to Him.
On the path to spiritual maturity, even temptation becomes a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block when you realize that it is just as much an occasion to do the right thing as it is to do the wrong thing. Temptation simply provides the choice. Every time you choose to do good instead of sin, you are growing in the character of Christ.
To understand this, you must first identify the character qualities of Jesus. One of the most concise descriptions of His character is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you're tempted to express the exact opposite quality.
God uses the opposite situation of each fruit to allow us a choice. You can't claim to be good if you've never been tempted to be bad. You can't claim to be faithful if you've never had the opportunity to be unfaithful. Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest; humility grows when we refuse to be prideful; and endurance develops every time you reject the temptation to give up.
All temptations follow the same four-step process. In step one, Satan identifies a desire inside of you. Temptation starts when Satan suggests (with a thought) that you give in to an evil desire, or that you fulfill a legitimate desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time. We think temptation lies around us, but God says it begins within us. If you didn't have the internal desire, the temptation could not attract you. Temptation always starts in your mind, not in circumstances.
Step two is doubt. Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about the sin: Is it really wrong? Did God really say not to do it? Didn't God mean this prohibition for someone else or some other time? Doesn't God want me to be happy?
Step three is deception. Anything he tells you will be untrue or just half-true. Satan offers his lie to replace what God has already said in His Word.
Step four is disobedience. You finally act on the thought you've been toying with in your mind. What began as an idea gets birthed into behavior. You give in to whatever got your attention.
Understanding how temptation works is in itself helpful, but there are specific steps you need to take to overcome it.
Refuse to be intimidated. In one sense you can consider temptation a compliment. Temptation is a sign that Satan hates you, not a sign of weakness or worldliness. It is also a normal part of being human and living in a fallen world. Don't be surprised or shocked or discouraged by it. Be realistic about the inevitability of temptation; you will never be able to avoid it completely. It is not a sin to be tempted. Temptation only becomes a sin when you give in to it. The closer you grow to God, the more Satan will try to tempt you.
Recognize your pattern of temptation and be prepared for it. There are certain situations that make you more vulnerable to temptation than others. Some circumstances will cause you to stumble almost immediately, while others don't bother you much. These situations are unique to your weaknesses, and you need to identify them because Satan surely knows them! He knows exactly what trips you up, and he is constantly working to get you into those circumstances. You should identify your typical pattern of temptation and then prepare to avoid those situations as much as possible.
Request God's help. God want you to ask him for assistance in overcoming temptation. When temptation strikes, you don't have time for a long conversation with God; you simply cry out. The Bible guarantees that our cry for help will be heard because Jesus is sympathetic to our struggle. He faced the same temptations we do. If God is waiting to help us defeat temptation, why don't we turn to him more often? Honestly, sometimes we don't WANT to be helped! We WANT to give in to temptation even though we know it's wrong. At that moment we think we know what's best for us more than God does. At other times we're embarrassed to ask God for help because we keep giving in to the same temptation over and over. But God never gets irritated, bored or impatient when we keep coming back to Him.