HOW TO HANDLE TEMPTATION

Temptation is an inescapable part of life. As Christians, we're bound to face it regularly. Even God's own son was tempted! By looking at Jesus' first hand experience, we find 3 ways to handle temptation when it strikes in our own lives.
First, fight Satan's deception with God's truth. satan often misuses truth to attack us. He even quoted scripture: "If you are the son of God," he said, 'throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you would not strike your foot against a stone." 'Jesus answered,  "it says: "Do not put Lord your God to test."(Luke 4:9-12).
As it was for Jesus, God's word is our best arsenal to withstand the enemy's attacks. We need to hear, read, study, memorize & meditate on the Bible. When we are secure in his word, we will know when the devil uses it to tempt us. Paul calls to the Ephesians, "put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's scheme " (Ephesians 6:11) We must arm ourselves with spiritual weapons to stand against satan. Paul names one of the most powerful weapons, the sword, as the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17)
Second, prepare with prayer. Jesus prepared himself to face satan through prayer, and he encouraged his disciples to do the same: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the spirit is weak"(Mathew 26:41).
    The enemy often attacks at our weakest moment. Luke states that Jesus was tempted for the 40 days he was fasting, and the 3 specific temptations recounted in Mathew & Luke seem to have occurred at the close of this period ―When Jesus' hunger was greatest and his resistance lowest. But he had prepared himself through prayer and looked directly to God for guidance. Prayer teaches us, strengthens us and prepares us to face temptation without fear.
  Third, reject temptation immediately. It's not easy through! Resisting temptation requires sacrifice. It requires discipline and self control. It's frustrating & sometimes painful. Yet we can not avoid it. So we must look beyond the temptation to our power source. As Christians we have this promise:"God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it"(1 Corinthians 10:13). When he was tempted, Jesus did not begin to consider any of Satan's three  offers. He did not pick up the temptation & play with it. He did not give it a moment's considerations or image what it would be like if he gave in. He looked straight to God and dismissed the temptation immediately.
As the apostle Paul sat in a Roman prison for the second time, he knew he would not be released. He would face death as a martyr. Time hung in the balance. In an emotional and heartfelt letter to his disciple, Paul exhorts Timothy to avoid temptation at all cost: "flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart"(2Timothy 2:22).Paul also knew the danger in giving temptation a second thought.
When we are tempted, giving in is always the easy way out. But when we arm ourselves with God's word & prepare ourselves through prayer, he will give us everything we need to resist temptation.
Olu Akpata (Zûr).
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