Whenever you decide to do something good in life, something is always going to test
you on your resolve.
That is the basis for Step 5 of the Take Back Your Temple process: "Expect Tests and Be Prepared."
I started this journey back in December 2003, but I still get tempted occasionally to eat things I know are not good for me. Jesus was not immune to temptations either!
Luke 4:13 says,
"Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."
Did you get that? The devil tempted Jesus after His 40-day fast, Jesus resisted the devil, but then devil still sought another opportunity to tempt Jesus again!
That's why scripture tells us, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8)."
This week, the enemy tried to present me
with a "tempting opportunity." My husband Mike and I went to a neighborhood Christmas party. Mike brought some chocolate cake home.
The next day, I received a phone call with some bad news. Suddenly, I remembered Mike's chocolate cake in the refrigerator. That was the tempting
opportunity.
Now up until that point, the cake had not tempted me. But I felt bad and I wanted to feel better. From my past habits, that's what I used to do - run to food whenever I had emotions I didn't want to feel.
Sugar was my emotional pain killer.
But this time, I remembered a key scripture that was essential to helping me resist that tempting opportunity.
This is a good scripture to memorize so you can practice it whenever you are faced with certain temptations in your life: