Overcoming Temptation

And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:3-10 ESV).

Yesterday I wrote a little piece about temptation. Today I want us to look a little closer at how we can be even more successful in overcoming each episode of temptation. One of Satan’s great tools is discouragement. If we succumb to discouragement, we will often turn away from our hope in the Lord. We can see this happening in the book of Job; the devil is attacking Job with catastrophe after catastrophe, and there seems to be no hope of any relief. It is interesting that the advice he received from his wife and his closest friends was to quit. His wife simply said, “Curse God and die.” Before we judge Job’s wife too harshly, understand that sometimes the toughest temptations we may face in life can come through people who love us the most. That’s because these people have genuine concern for us and don’t want us to hurt. So, oftentimes, they urge us to take the easy way out. The devil knows this and enjoys using those who love us to lead us into temptation and out of the will of God. Jesus certainly experienced this when Peter urged Him not to talk about going to the cross. Jesus knew the source of Peter’s thinking and responded accordingly. That’s why Christian spouses and friends have an incredibly important responsibility. When we see a brother or sister in Christ facing a crisis or temptation, we must avoid advising them to quit. We must realize helping them fight off the temptation means we encourage them in their journey, no matter how steep the climb appears or the depth of the valley laying before them. Quitting is rarely the answer. Become your loved one’s partner in his or her difficult struggle and patiently encourage them to do things the Lord’s way, even when it’s the hard way. That way is always the best way. That way leads to transformation and renewal.