To Give in or Not to Give in?

To Give in or Not to Give in?

How are you doing with you Lent resolutions? How is your fasting going? Are you experiencing any hardship yet? Have you been tempted? That’s part of the process. What do you do when temptations rise? To give in or not to give in, that’s the question.

Jesus was tempted by the Devil right after he was baptised. Read Luke 4:1-13 (the Message). Jesus did not give in. Instead, he quoted Scripture back to the Devil:
‘Man does not live on bread alone.'(Luke 4:4/Deut.8:3)
‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'(Luke 4:8/Deut.6:13)
‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'(Luke 4:12/Deut.6:16)

Jesus shows us how we could deal with our temptations. We need to lift our gaze from our temptations up to God, own the promises of the Bible and dare to put them in practice.

As long as we focus on our temptations we are struggling. But when we focus on God we are- by the grace of God -able to see things from a different perspective and able to not to give in. Our strength to resist temptations comes from the Lord. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13, NIV). Now, let’s put that in practice!

Gracious God,
Thank you for showing us the way.
Thank you for being the way.
Help us to turn to you,
focus on you
and surrender to you.
Give us all the strength we need.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How have you dealt with temptations?

2 thoughts on “To Give in or Not to Give in?

  1. From Janie B: Well said, my friend. Your gift for holding your reflections in light of God's heart consistently enriches my life. This Lenten reflection points to the meaning of the Latin root of the English word "sacrifice," which does not mean to give over something, but to create a space for the sacred to enter in.

  2. Janie,
    Thanks for sharing the meaning of "sacrifice"! That's what Lent is all about: to create a space for the sacred to enter in!
    Thank you also for your kind words. Blessings!!

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