When I did casework, a young woman with the IQ of a six year old told my boss, “Life is hard to live.” The wisdom of that statement proves that you don’t need a great intellect or formal education to understand the often difficult nature of life. In Genesis after the Fall, God makes it clear that we’re no longer living in paradise: “… cursed is the ground because of you (the result of sin and rebellion) in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground… ” (Gen 3:17-19). In addition to these inherent difficulties, Satan is still slithering into our lives with temptations.
We close our series by examining the final petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Mat 6:13). We need to understand that God does not tempt us. James 1:13-14 makes this clear, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” In other words, we shouldn’t blame God for our own sinful nature. In many situations, we simply look in the mirror to find the culprit.
Beyond self-inflicted seductions, God will allow us to endure temptations on occasion. Temptation in biblical terms is often experienced as trials (see Job 1:6-12). Trials may simply result from living in a broken world. We never know what others are going through. Recently, we discovered that a professional who wasn’t doing her job well had her father in the hospital, her mother seriously ill, and a daughter having a baby. Trials also result from spiritual attacks. It is widely understood that the deliverance sought is not from a faceless, generic evil. “The last petition in the Lord’s Prayer is a petition for deliverance from Satan. ‘Deliver us from the evil one’ (Matthew 6:13) is the correct translation” (Derek Prince, Secrets of a Prayer Warrior, p. 46).
Regardless of the source or type of temptation, it may help to remember two things: 1. We cannot face temptations alone; so we pray… lead us not into temptation, acknowledging our dependence on God. This is a plea for strength and guidance from our Father in heaven; 2. The Father who hears our prayers loves us more than we love ourselves. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are… (1John 3:1a).
Therefore brothers and sisters, let us close as we opened this great prayer, in praise: For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen (included in some ancient manuscripts)
The Barnabas Strategy is an initiative of the Holy Spirit free of institutional constraints. … Ron Bellomy
(NOTE: The image of Archangel Michael defeating Satan is royalty free from Dreamtime.com.)