Message from Scripture: 11/14/2020

 

Our message from Scripture today is Jas. 1:13; “No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.”

 

Perhaps the best translation here in James, which keeps us in the context of what James has been writing about, is “No one undergoing a trial should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’” (1:13a). It seems that perhaps James’ readers were responding to the trials of life as so many do today. “God, why is this happening to me?  Don’t you love me?  Why do I have to face these situations?” By having the wrong attitude toward trials, which God uses to help strengthen our faith and draw us closer to Him, what was intended to pull us away from sin and make us more committed to Him, can wind up becoming a temptation instead.

 

So much of the time it’s not what we face, as how we respond to life’s situations that affects how the situation turns out. No one but us decides what we think about life and how we react to life. Remember how Paul received a thorn in the flesh, to keep him from exalting himself over the vision God gave him? No doubt this trial was unpleasant, because Paul said he prayed to God 3 times to remove it from him (2 Cor. 12:8). God, however, responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). God blessed him through his trial, and he would say, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (1 Cor. 12:10).

 

God and Satan approach the situations we face in life from different perspectives. God works for our good, but Satan works for our destruction. May our trust and hope always be in God, because, even in the trials of life, He is always working to bless, strengthen, and help us have a greater faith, a better life, and a stronger hope. Have a great day today, knowing God is working in you for your good. God bless.

 

Robert