Temptation - Daily Devotions

First, the general nature of tempting and temptation has a purpose that is not inherently evil. It means to

try, to experiment, and to prove, like piercing a vessel in order to know the liquid it contains. God is

said, at times, to tempt or try us in this way, and we are also commanded to search ourselves to know

what is in us (and to pray for God to do this).5 So, temptation is like a knife that may either cut the

meat or the throat of a man. It may be his food or his poison—his exercise or his destruction.”

“Look to God for deliverance

But suppose you have already been surprised by temptation, becoming entangled unawares, so that now

it is too late to resist the first entrances of it? What are you to do to avoid being plunged into it and

carried away with its power?

1. Pray. Do as Paul did, and ask God again and again for the temptation to depart from you (2 Cor

12:7).12 And if you persist in this, you will certainly either be quickly delivered out of it or you will

receive a sufficiency of grace so as not to be utterly defeated by it (2 Cor 12:9).13 Only, as I said in part

before, do not so much set your thoughts about the things that tempt you, which often causes further

entanglements, but set yourself against the temptation. Pray against the temptation that it may depart.

And when that is taken away, the things themselves can be more calmly considered.

2. Look to Christ. Fly to Him in a particular manner, because He also was tempted. Beg Him to give

you help in this needful time of trouble. The apostle instructs us in this, saying “because[...]”

3. Trust the promises. Look to Him who has promised to deliver you. Consider that He is faithful, being

unwilling to permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear (1 Cor 10:13).15 Consider that

He has promised your good in all these trials and temptations. Recall all of the promises of assistance

and deliverance He has made; ponder them in your heart, and rest on the fact that God has innumerable

ways, which are not known to you, to give you deliverance:

A. He can send you an affliction, which will mortify your heart as to the matter of any temptation. Then

those things that were previously a sweet morsel under your tongue will have neither taste nor relish in

it for you. Your desire to it will be killed, as it was with David.

B. He can also, by some providence, alter the circumstances that are the source of your temptations,

thereby taking fuel from the fire and causing it to go out by itself. This was also true of David in the

day of battle.

C. He can tread down Satan under your feet so that he will not dare to suggest anything for your harm;

the God of peace will do it, and you will hear of Satan no more (Rom 16:20).16

D. He can give you an overabundance of grace, which will free you, though not from the temptation

itself, yet from the tendencies and dangers of it, as was the case with Paul (2 Cor 12:8-9).17

E He can give you a firm conviction of a positive outcome from your trial, which will refresh you and

keep you from the trouble of the temptation, as was also the case with Paul.

F. Or, He can utterly remove the temptation and make you a complete conqueror.

These are just some of the innumerable ways He has of keeping you from entering into temptation and

becoming foiled by it.

4. Defend the entrances. Consider where the temptation that surprised you made its entrance and the

means it employed. Quickly repair that breach, stopping the passage that the waters made to enter it.

Deal with your soul like a wise physician. Ask when, how, and by what means you fell into this

sickness. And if you find the cause to be negligence, carelessness, and a lack of watching over yourself,

fix your soul there. Plead your need before the Lord, make up the breach, and then proceed to the work

that lies before you.”

Excerpt From

Temptation: Winning the Battle Before the War: In Modern English

John Owen

https://books.apple.com/us/book/temptation-winning-battle-before-war-in-modern-english/

id1494573121

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