Fear No Fear

“Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither does He tempt anyone. But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death” (James 1:13-15, MEV). God is not trying to knock us down. He isn’t trying to see if we’ll fail. He isn’t up there with His belt in His hand just WAITING to give us a whoopin’. WE are the originators of the majority of our temptations because we have to CONCEIVE of them first. We have to be exposed to something in order to be tempted by it. That’s why the advertising industry exists. To show us what we never knew that we wanted. This is what the entertainment industry provides so well. They show us a plethora of things that we may never have thought of before that suddenly we are able to think of. Once we have something in our minds, we’re able to think of it. We’re able to consider it. We’re able to be tempted by it. That’s why Paul entreated the Roman church to be ignorant to evil, but wise in the good (Romans 16:19). It’s why God didn’t want Adam to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. By knowing the good (God) well, Adam would automatically know what evil was: everything else (Romans 14:23). The difference was that Adam couldn’t be tempted by it. God loves us and wants us knowledgeable. But He doesn’t WANT us to be tempted. He doesn’t WANT us to have that moral dilemma (right vs wrong or desire vs obedience). He wants us to live godly, to enjoy the good things of life, and always to rely on Him for everything – so that we don’t need to look to any other source for anything. That’s why He encourages us to rely on Him. When we are rooted in Him, it’s so much easier to not be tempted. And when we ARE tempted? So much easier to say no thank you, I’m good with God (1 Corinthians 10:13). It’s not about abstinence or avoidance or being deprived. It’s about being SO FREE in Jesus, that everything else pales in comparison. It’s about being so fulfilled, you’re not looking for anything else. It’s about such a pain-free life that the abundance of your spirit outshines the glitter of anything else. It’s about being so full of the love of Jesus, you don’t WANT the love of the world. It’s about ABUNDANT LIFE and not the pale, second-best-at-best offerings being offered. It’s about being grateful and thankful to our GOOD God who gives us GOOD things now and forever because He LOVES us.