Facts About Temptation (Part 3)

1. God’s Goodness

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)

One of the great tricks of the devil in these last days is to make believers think that God does not really love and care for the needs of His children. When satan approached Eve in the garden, he made her believe that if God really loved and care for them as she said, He would have allowed them to freely eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The goodness of God in the life of a believer should ser

ve as a barrier to that person yielding to temptation. God is good and truly loves all His children, that was shown in the gift of Jesus Christ to the world. Through Him (Jesus), He can freely give us anything in this world and in eternity. Based on this, we don’t require any man (including the devil) to meet our needs. Note this – it is better to be hungry in the will of God than to be full/satisfied in the will of satan. Once you begin to doubt God’s goodness to your life, you will be attracted to satan’s offers; and the natural desires within will compel you to take it. 

Let’s consider some facts about God’s Goodness;

A. God gives only good gifts – Everything good in this world comes only from God. If it not come from God then, it is not good and cannot be good, and if it comes from God it MUST be good, even if you do not see the good in it immediately.

B. The way God gives is always good – When God gives us a gift/blessing, He does it in a very loving and gracious way. What He gives and the manner in which He gives it are both good.

C. He gives constantly – From James 1:17, the phrase ‘Cometh Down’ is a present participle: it means – it will keep coming down. God does not give occasionally, but rather He gives constantly and when you need it.

D. God does not change – There is No shadow with the Father of lights. It is impossible for God to change; that’s why He can boldly say about Himself ‘I AM THE LORD I CHANGE NOT’. He cannot change for the worse because He is Holy, He can also not change for the better because, He is already perfect. If shadows come between us and the Father, He never caused it but we did.

The next time you are tempted, meditate on the goodness of God in your life. Whenever you need something, wait on God to provide it. Please never toy with the bait of the devil. One of the many purposes of temptation is to teach us Patience.