I‘ve struggled for years with Matthew 6:13, “And lead us not into temptation”. I remember James 1:13 which says, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;” I thought, if God doesn’t lead us into temptation, why is Jesus saying this? I’ve recently gotten some revelations that explains this, at least for me.
I believe God would not lead me to the door of a bar and say, “Go in there and get drunk.” Or turn on the TV and lead me to watch an R-rated movie. No, He won’t do that! But He may lead me down the street where that bar is located or sit down with me where the movie choices are displayed. He gives me the choice. But then I thought, “But the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted.” (Matthew 4:1). That seemed to be a contradiction. So, I got this explanation: The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where the devil was, He didn’t lead Jesus into temptation. Then the verse in Psalms 23 came to me, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” We may be walking through a dark valley, a wilderness or any place the devil is, but God is not tempting us there. The devil does the tempting and he or his demons are everywhere here on earth and he’s always, “seeking who he may destroy” (1 Peter 5:8). But God is with us and His awesome power is comforting and protecting to us. We can rely on Him to get us through.
Now that doesn’t mean we’ll never be tempted; we know that because we’re tempted all the time. But if God is with us, (and He is unless we’ve walked away from Him but He’s still only a prayer away), He will show us the way out. (1 Corinthians 10:13). I also believe that God will sometimes allow us to be in a difficult situation in order to train us and take us to the next level. A coach will lead an athlete into the gym where there are some heavy weights and difficult exercises, but the purpose is to make them stronger.
So, I am now satisfied with Matthew 6:13. Thank you Lord.
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