1 Corinthians 10:13
ESV
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure.
You’re going to be tempted. This is a definite. You will be tempted by the enemy to envy, fear, be anxious, distrust God, to lust. You will be tempted throughout your years here on earth to do things that you know dishonour God. The enemy will constantly battle us as Christians so that we can lose our way, but God allows this to strengthen our faith and not break it. When we do sin, we are convicted by the Holy Spirit and repent. We shouldn’t find joy in sin because we know it grieves the God we love wholeheartedly
You’ll be tempted. Yes, so if you’re tempted, don’t think you are odd. Don’t wonder why these sudden thoughts telling you are less than is there or why you’ll feel this tug to want to be bitter at someone else’s success. It’s the enemy tempting you so you can stop remaining connected to God, but instead, follow your flesh and draw further from God. During temptation, we use scripture and prayer to resist the enemy.
We will be tempted, but there is a big difference between living in a sin and being tempted to sin. You might feel tempted to be jealous of your sibling to compare yourself to them, but as a Christian, you’ll notice this within yourself and run to God. We surrender our hearts to him and ask for His help but if your reaction is to grab a stone and murder your siblings out of a place of jealousy when you know God and are saved, you need to recheck your heart and relationship with God.
A heart that’s been transformed by the love of God will seek to honor him with all they do. They won’t delight in sin but holiness, and when they see any wicked way before themselves, they’ll go to the Father in repentance and yell “Father I need you!”
David was known for being a man after God’s own heart. My pastor talked about this and said that a man, after God’s heart, is someone who values God above all things. David had such a deep fear of the Lord and a love and passion for God that he involved God in almost everything he did.
He’ll ask God what to do, where to go, if he should go or not, what his opinion is, for his blessing and help, if he should fight or not. Despite his many shortcomings, the man, after God’s own heart, valued God that even when he sinned, he repented. Despite being king, when God sent his prophet to David, he realised his sin, and he would admit his wrong. He had humility. He had a heart that was connected and could easily leave things for the sake of his relationship with God. This is what God saw in David, this is why God said he looks at the heart, he sees a heart that he knows that compared to a world that wants nothing to do with him, there is a heart that values him and when convicted will repent. This was a man God could use greatly for His glory.
Like David, we will be tempted. We might even stumble as he did, but as Christ followers, we don’t delight in sin. We don’t live a sinful lifestyle at ease. We recognise when what we do is dishonoring God, and by His grace, we humble ourselves and repent.
-etty