You cannot claim to be good if you have never been tempted to be bad. You cannot claim to be faithful if you have never had the opportunity to be unfaithful.
Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest.
Humility grows when we refuse to be prideful.
Endurance develops every time we reject the temptation to give up.
Patience is developed in circumstances in which we are forced to wait and are tempted to be angry or have a shortcut.
Every temptation is an opportunity to identify and build our characters. We are tempted in a place where we feel the weakest or the strongest one. Jesus was tempted when He was hungry and feeling tired. However, David was tempted when he was king. Satan uses every means and opportunity to make us down. He makes use our desires and suggests choices. He brings doubts in our heart about God’s promises. He deceives us to go the opposite direction. He offers us his lies to replace what God has already said.
Every temptation is an opportunity to do good. In every temptation, there is a choice to do good or bad. The choice to do good is the hardest and most difficult one then the choice to do bad. Often the choice to do good means we have to sacrifice our career, or ambition, or even our life. In the Bible, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tempted by a death penalty to worship the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar. In addition, Daniel was forced to give away his faith. They all passed the temptations and as the result even, the king and his people glorified God.
Every temptation is a path to the higher spiritual maturity. Our spiritual life grows stronger and stronger every time we pass our temptations. Thus if we understand this perspective then a temptation becomes a mean to test our faith. A temptation becomes stepping-stone rather than a stumbling block. For example, God teaches us love by putting some unlovely people around us. It is easy to love people who love us, but how can we still love those who do not do good to us?
Temptations are God’s means to bring us to be closer to Him. Temptations make us more dependent upon Him. Just as a tree grows stronger when wind blows against it, so every time you stand up to a temptation you become stronger and more like Jesus.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (KJ)
