Growing through Temptation (Part I)

I know this is not my week to post. but if I don't post this now I may never actually do so. Sorry about my tardiness...with God's help I'm working on it.

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. - Galatians 5:22-23

You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair - Martin Luther

I've been reading the "Purpose Driven Life" for a while now, and it has really been teaching me and showing me some very good things about God, and what a right relationship with Him means, and what I can do to have that right relationship grow and be more...right. My reading has, admittedly, been going in an on and off fashion primarily because I have some organisation and self control/discipline issues that I have been working on (not beating up on myself, simply stating a fact. a fact that with God's help is becoming less factual daily).

But anyway. Today's reading (Day 26) was called "Growing through Temptation". It was very helpful and I'd like to share it with y'all. I'm not very disciplined when it comes to writing (note my previous QT draft that's been sitting unfinished for weeks now), so I will very likely be posting this in an unorthodox fashion - piece by piece. Every time I sit down to write I'll post what I have even if it's not finished until I eventually do finish. That way at least something will have been posted, because otherwise what I'm learning might never see the light of day. I realise this might be frustrating...I'll try to keep it coherent - please bear with me in my weakness :). Here we go:


The author starts off by noting that:
- Every temptation is an opportunity to do good. I've not necessarily really ever thought about it that way - I usually view temptation as an opportunity to fall. But he's right...with every temptation we are in fact being given the opportunity to mould our characters to becme more like God. However, like physical and emotional maturity, spiritual maturity doesn't come over night - it comes slowly. Fruit doesn't ripen in a matter of minutes or even days. I'm a perfectionist, and oftentimes I can beat up on myself alot when my character doesn't immediately change in the ways that I want it to. When I can't just will myself to automatically have the fruits of the Spirit that the Galatians verses refer to. Impatience with myself won't produce the fruit of patience, I know that for me it only produces feelings of worthlessness. And that makes me want to stop trying. And I believe that that's the exact opposite of what it is that God wants and has planned for us. Because He Himself said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt 11:28-29). I have been approaching this all wrong (breathe in, breathe out, be free). This concept of the attaining of maturity not being an overnight process is one that has been important for me to realise.

- God develops the fruit of the Spirit by allowing us to to be tempted to express the quality that is the exact opposite of that fruit that is to be developed (God never tempts us, see James1:13). We're really given the chance to develop patience not so much on a clear strip of highway, but instead when we're stuck in a traffic jam and we're already late for work.

- We can't really claim to be good if we've never really been tempted to do bad (I learned this when I went to college and realised that I wasn't actually strong in certain areas, it was just that I had never really had to struggle against them before. In fact, my response to temptation showed me that I was actually quite weak in them. But I believe that in allowing me to face those temptations God allowed me to learn about myself. I then had the choice of whether or not to do something about my weaknesses). Every time we defeat a temptation we become more like Jesus, because in standing strong in the face of that temptation, we have allowed a fruit of the Spirit to be developed. Temptation in fact allows us an opportunity to grow! Isn't that so maddeningly counter intuitive?!? I love it!!! God's ways are not like man's ways for sure. This has also given me a whole new appreciation for James 1: 2-4 " Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."


So temptation simply provides us with a choice, and the fortitude that we gain from making the right choice in the face of opposition moulds us to become more like our Saviour. Consider it pure joy....Amazing.



To be continued...