When I Feel...Tempted To Sin

The penultimate poem in my series, "When I Feel" covers the tricky and dangerous situation of, "When I Feel...Tempted To Sin."
Temptation is something every human faces on a daily basis and as the Scriptures make clear, even Jesus was tempted! Temptation in and of itself isn’t sinful, it’s acting upon temptation and giving in to the desires of the flesh that’s sinful.
Let’s guard our hearts and make no provision for the flesh as we fiercely protect the good gifts God has placed within our lives. I pray this poem, the Scriptures and meditation section can be really helpful for us today if we feel we're struggling in this area.
God bless you and lots of love, Lucy xx

"When I’m feeling tempted to wander from Your way,
When worldly things have turned my eyes to lead my heart astray,
When earthly charms entice me and test me to my core,
Help me Lord to ask myself, “What do I want more?”

A momentary, fleeting fun, a pleasure quickly passing?
Or do I want eternal life and peace that’s ever-lasting?
A fellowship with Jesus Christ that leaves me overjoyed?
Or watch my testimony and my witness be destroyed?

For surely it is fleeting, the pleasure sin will bring
And not a worthy trade to lose the closeness of my King!
Oh help me in that moment, Lord to see I have a choice!
May I crucify the flesh and listen to Your voice!

Let me do no damage and refuse to compromise,
May I bring to mind Your Word to cut through satan’s lies!
Grant me strength to do what’s right before it is too late.
Help me see the open door and run for the escape!

Come to me, I pray oh Lord and aid me in this hour,
Give me grace to overcome and fill me with Your power!
I know You understand my plight for You were tempted too,
Oh captivate my every thought as I remain in You."


1 Corinthians 10:13
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

James 1:13-18
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.”

Luke 4:9-13
“Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

Hebrews 4:15-16
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Heart Check

Am I feeling tempted at the moment to be drawn into something I know is sinful? Am I being pulled or swayed by the things of this world that are harmful for me and contrary to God’s Word? Am I ready to face the consequences of my actions if I choose to act upon this temptation?

Temptation is something every human faces on a daily basis and as the Scriptures make clear, even Jesus was tempted! Temptation in and of itself isn’t sinful, it’s acting upon temptation and giving in to the desires of the flesh that’s sinful.
Temptation starts with a thought that comes into our mind. A thought that speaks to an impulse in the flesh and one that pulls at our selfish desires, seeking to entice us away from doing what we know is right, according to God’s Word. It calls us to break through the beneficial boundaries God has placed around us for our safety and our protection.
Temptation is always a conscious thing and something we are aware of. It creates a moment where we have a choice and we decide whether to resist doing what we know is wrong or give in to our desires by acting upon them, whatever they may be.

The fact that Jesus faced temptation as we do, yet remained without sin shows us that temptation isn’t sinful, it’s our response to that temptation that will determine whether we fall into sin or not. Hebrews 4:15-16 reveals the encouraging truth that Christ can sympathise with our weaknesses because He too was tempted, yet remained sinless. 2 Corinthians 5:21 confirms that Christ was without sin when He died upon the Cross.
This truth is imperative for the Gospel because if Jesus hadn’t been sinless then He couldn’t pay for the sins of the world. If Christ had committed even one sin during His life, He couldn’t be our spotless, sacrificial Lamb and would have had to have paid for His own sins on the Cross, instead of the sins of others. The fact that the Resurrection happened and Jesus was raised from the dead proves that our Saviour was perfect in all of His ways throughout His entire time here on Earth.
This is what makes it so comforting to ponder the truths we read earlier in Hebrews 4. Jesus is our High Priest who sympathises with our weaknesses and can help us in our time of need.
He knows what it feels like to be tempted and He knows what it takes to engage in that battle and come out victorious.

If we look at how Satan tempted Jesus through the verses in Luke 4, we can see some very relatable and familiar tactics. First of all, Satan tried to tempt Jesus by appealing to a need, in this case, hunger. Jesus responded by quoting the Word of God and thwarting the attack.
Secondly, Satan placed temptation in front of Jesus by prompting Him to prove Himself.
Once again, Jesus responded by quoting the Scriptures and refusing to be goaded.
Satan’s third and final attempt to entice Jesus into sinning was to appeal to the human desire to have things now.
For a third time, Jesus used the Sword of Truth to cut through the lies of the devil and stand strong in the power of God. Our Saviour used the Scriptures to resist the devil and as we discover by reading on in that passage, a defeated Satan soon fled from the presence of Jesus.

Christ could have used His authority as the Son of God to fight off Satan but He didn’t. He chose to use the same tools that we have in order to give us a wonderful example of how to deal with temptation and show us the success that will come from using these tools. Jesus demonstrated superbly, as a Man, how we too can take the power out of temptation, resist the devil and watch him flee as we stand securely in the strength of the Almighty God.

So let’s ask ourselves again, am I struggling with temptation today? If so, what’s the nature of this temptation and what is it appealing to within me? Is it speaking to some kind of need, a desire to prove myself or taking advantage of my lack of patience in waiting for something?
When I look at the full journey of where this temptation will lead, what’s the likely outcome? If I look beyond the instant pleasure or satisfaction it might bring me at the start and consider the full story, how will this journey end? Will it hurt or damage me and others? Will it weaken or destroy my testimony and witness?

We must be so careful not to be ignorant of the enemies’ devices as he roams around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Satan only ever wants to destroy what good God has built within our lives and any compromise or hypocrisy on our part will only serve to assist him in this evil pursuit.
When we fall into sin as a Christian, we don’t lose our salvation but the first thing to go will be our connection and fellowship with Jesus, quickly followed by our joy. Peace will depart from us and be replaced by brokenness and sorrow. Falling into sin can cause an endless list of heartaches and losses so may we be as wise as serpents yet gentle as doves as we navigate the tricky waters of life.

Let’s look to Christ’s example and when temptation comes knocking at the door, may we be ready and willing to thwart it with the power of God’s Word. Let’s guard our hearts and make no provision for the flesh as we fiercely protect the good gifts God has placed within our lives. We’re called to be good stewards over the things gifted to us under Heaven so whatever deceitful temptation satan may be holding up in front of us today, it’s not worth trading in the sweetness of a close relationship with our Maker.
The devil is a liar and so is our flesh. God is the Author of Truth so if we’re feeling tempted by anything today that goes against His perfect will for us, let’s look for the open door and the way of escape! Let’s starve the flesh, feed the spirit and by the grace of God, remain victorious in the strength and power of our Lord Jesus Christ.