Faith Filled Family Magazine April 2017 | Page 20

miscuity can bring , and this is only one example of a powerful sin that can keep us from having true purpose in our lives . We are encouraged to stay close to God so that when temptations come , we will be able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit calling us away from what the enemy offers and telling us how to resist .
Paul tells us there are no new temptations we face that no one else has had to deal with . This does not mean that all of humanity faces the exact temptations throughout our lives ; however , the implication is that we will all face the same type of temptation , but at varying levels of magnitude . Our enemy has been at
work for quite some time , and he is extremely shrewd and knowledgeable when it comes to human nature . Read through the story of the fall of man again in Genesis 3 . The serpent knew exactly how to tempt Adam and Eve through the desires of the flesh , the desires of the eyes , and the pride of life as discussed in 1st John 2:16 . Are we to face the same temptations at the same level ? Will we have to endure the same trials as Jesus Himself endured ? If we were to look back at our lives during the times of vulnerability when we regrettably yielded to temptation , we would be able to recognize the certain type of temptation came at the right moment when we would be most likely to yield to it . We can be most certain it was not coincidence . Furthermore , the same thing we yielded to before may be the same thing we struggle with to this day , even after having received Jesus as our Messiah .
For many believers , temptations that were yielded to in the past come back to haunt , making them harder to fight against . The fact is that once we succumb to something , human nature dictates that we feel the struggle was lost , and there is no reason to fight against the desire any longer . We give up in no uncertain terms and find it easier to justify committing