One of the reasons people give in to temptation is that they have bought in to a lot of mis-information about what temptation is and what it means. See, most people think that being tempted is the same thing as sinning, so when they feel really tempted to do something wrong, they think, “Well, I want to do that wrong thing, so since I’ve already failed the Lord, I might as well do it.” Here’s the thing though: Being tempted is not the same thing as doing the sin. The fact that you want to do something wrong is not the same thing as actually doing it. In fact, if you didn’t want to do that wrong thing, it wouldn’t be tempting and you wouldn’t ever do it and why are we still talking about it?! The Bible says Jesus was tempted. In fact, the book of Hebrews says Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin. So, if Jesus was tempted and never sinned, then being tempted (and feeling tempted) isn’t wrong. Two chapters before that verse in Hebrews, it says that Jesus suffered when He was tempted! Wow. Do you realize what that means? It means that not only was Jesus tempted, but it was hard for Him! Most of us probably think of Jesus being this different kind of holy that wouldn’t even want anything bad, but the Bible doesn’t say that. It says temptation was tempting for Jesus. It was hard. He never gave in, but He suffered under it. Here’s what that means: Jesus understands how you feel. He knows just how hard it is to stand up under what you’re facing and He’s able to help you.
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