Imposed Temptations

From the very beginning, we see the first temptation as the serpent asking Eve, “Did God really say…?”

What I see here is a battle between God’s Word and self will. Eve could have stuck to what God said and walked away…but the voice of the serpent wasn’t just audible, but influential as well. You know what happened next.

The Bible says she gave her man the fruit to eat as well. It’s not specified whether this fruit was different from the others. I think not! If it was, I think Adam could have questioned Eve! I believe then, that the only distinction of the fruit was its tree being in the middle of the garden.

I’ll be back to explain something here.

We see the same pattern throughout histories. Even if Abraham later almost sacrificed Isaac, he had only learnt from the first scenario… When God’s Word said he would receive a child, his self will overcame the scale of the matter, for even if it was his wife’s suggestion to sleep with her maid servant, he’d have said no.

David could have remembered the commandment that says,” Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.”

…which was God’s Word, but he chose his self will. “I got to have her.”

And so Bathsheba was summoned. And to cover it all up, he killed the lady’s husband.

I could go on and on… but I think the moral is, we are overcome by temptation when we choose our self will over God’s Word, or promise.

For example, I still believe God speaks. Maybe God said so and so would be your life mate, but the reality of things doesn’t look synchronized with what God said. It could in fact be worse than what I’m saying.

But we forget that it’s God who spoke…

Real temptation is when, one in such a position quickly rushes to settle for someone else with a mentality that she or he would be taken too, and that the victim would wind up with no one!

Sometimes temptation isn’t about picking up that bottle of beer or pack of cigarettes. It’s a battle between choosing to believe what God said over the other voices which when listened to I’d call inherited temptations.

Why?

Eve failed to resist the counsel of the ungodly. She quickly imposed her failure to Adam, and Adam inherited the consequences of her temptation unknowingly. We see that much today, where people after giving into temptation, normalize falling, and so carry on the vice convincing others to do the same.

This can be likened to being advised by a fellow Christian you always held in high regard perhaps. But because you did, you fail to weigh or discern the kind of information they are giving. Soon you end up eating the fruit too.

The temptation is not buying the cheap E model Benz. It is whether or not you’ll trust God to bring about the ML 2020 model God said He would give. It is overcoming the free will and believing that He isn’t man to lie.

Now, that we’ve realized how not to give in, the harder question is believing God. Some experiences teach us His faithfulness. We can also bench on others’ experiences as well. Abraham believed that God who promised…is faithful.

We too can believe that. Furthermore, I discovered another theory. It’s still in God’s very Word. He says that no one knows what’s in a man except that man’s spirit. So, when Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit, God’s own Spirit to dwell in us, the Spirit that knows what’s in Him.

That makes things easier. If Eve had His spirit in her, I think she’d have discerned the serpent was possessed by the enemy, since the Holy Spirit has words of knowledge as one of His gifts of operation.

On top of that, I believe we are at an advantage since the Holy Spirit doesn’t come upon us and leave like He did those in the old testament. He abides forever with us, until the end of time.

That means He will believe in us. He will help us choose God’s Word over our self will. Choosing to wait on God to give us the free house filled with all good things He said He would, that we didn’t build. No wonder Zechariah said, “Not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit.”

His Spirit in us will help us believe.

He is, how we will keep standing!

He will cut & pierce even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, discerning all the thoughts and intents of the heart of whichever kind of counsel we could receive, or traces leading us into choosing self will over His Word

To Him, no creature is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. He can smell a bad rat miles away. He’ll keep us from creating alternate realities diverting us from the way our path was intended to go.

His Spirit will guard our hearts and keep us from falling. He will build up our faith, to enable us please God rather than our self will. His Spirit in us, is our ENABLER & defence against not only personal temptations that we could fall into, but imposed temptations as well, from men who failed to stand and are trying to pull down everyone else, especially due to their failure to find adjudication by receiving God’s Spirit

The beauty about His Spirit is, He understands that you are part flesh. Jesus himself was in every way tempted and yet He didn’t sin. His Spirit knows what you’re going through in case you’ve given into temptation once or twice or thrice…

A baby doesn’t stop trying again attempting to walk after falling several times. He believes he can do regardless. The only difference here is that the confidence ‘to learn how to walk without falling’ is in someone else who’s IN YOU, rather than yourself, and that someone’s spirit has helped billion others to stand through all manner of temptations

He won’t fail you.

If you indeed hate being overcome by whatever temptation you’re struggling with, or that which’s unbeknownst to you, He will work in you, and keep you standing!

He won’t fail you!

When He saw that He was without of Eve, He reconsidered, and discovered that if He can’t be in you, to help you walk in the very ways He would like you to, to help you believe what He says to you, then all your efforts would be in vain.

Let His Word become your will, and temptation won’t cause you to falter;

If you have Him, invite Him to aid you today. If you don’t, request Him to enter your heart today. Your struggle ends today!