"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man …"
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but maybe it's because we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.

A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his/her own temptation, because temptation will come to him/her in accordance with the level of his/her controlling, inner nature.

Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal—it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don't know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.

Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else—what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations—He sustains us in the midst of them (Hebrews 2:18 speaks of Jesus, and says, "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted [Succour means to aid in time of distress].

Hebrews 4:15–16 continues by adding, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without him.

16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."). Amen.

Rev. Dr. S. Stewart Poullard Th.D. is pastor of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Mermentau, Louisiana. Pastor Poullard holds a Masters in Theology [Th.M.] from Andersonville Baptist Seminary, Camilla, Georgia, 1999 and a Doctorate in Theology [Th.D.] from Andersonville Baptist Seminary, 2000. New Hope’s Motto: "We Teach and Preach Christ."

Copyright @2005 S. Stewart Poullard. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission BlackandChristian.com

P.S. There are still many displaced, homeless persons in South Louisiana. Pray to the One Strong God, Elohim, that their struggles might be blessed through healing, health, shelter, food, and clothing. Pray to El Shaddai, Almighty God, for their continued protection.