Temptation and Decisions

No one ever said decision making was easy. Take that new job? Move to another city or state or country? Get married? Stay single? Have a child? So many decisions, and so many ways in which they can go wrong.

Thankfully God is able to use even our worst decisions for His good, which is amazing and frightening all at the same time. It’s as if He knows us. Well, He does!!! While we are given the ability to have free choice in our lives, God is able to use every decision we make for His glory.

Temptation comes from every side…money, stuff, men, women, cars, houses, power. Whatever your weakness is, the devil knows how to entice you. He has made it his life’s work to learn your weaknesses and unless you are strong in Christ, you will not be able to resist.

James 1:13-18 (NASB)

¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Learn how to make the best Godly decisions you can make. There are five tests you can use to make sure the decision(s) you are making are within God’s will. These came in a study Bible I received many years ago. Brian D. McLaren wrote these and they are:

1.     The Scripture Test – Is it in harmony with the clear teachings of the Scripture? Does it resonate with good examples from Biblical history? Does it avoid violating “the letter” or “the spirit” of God’s Word? Does it fit in with our essential biblical call to love God and love our neighbors?

2.     The Counsel Test – Have you run your decision by wise counselors? Scripture tells us that in the abundance of counselors, we gain wisdom. Have you diligently done so?

3.     The Peace Test – Having prayed about this decision, do you have peace that it is from God? Or, if you still have misgivings (because some good decisions are still scary!), are they compensated for by other tests on this list?

4.     The IQ Test – If you use your God-given brain, educated by Scripture, instructed by counsel, and disciplined in prayer, does the decision make sense?

5.     The Desire Test – Does this decision resonate with your best and deepest desires, those elements of your personality that reflect your God-given makeup?

Passing these tests when making a decision does not guarantee your decision will lead to an easy or trouble free life, but it does increase the likelihood that your decision is in harmony with God’s will and that is what matters most.

I haven’t been that great at following my own advice and have made some not so great decisions based on my desires without testing them to see if they are also what God wants for me. In this, I royally screw up and hurt others in the process.

When we make bad choices, there is forgiveness available from God. You just have to ask for it. I had to teach this lesson tonight to my boy who made a bad decision today. He spoke about how God needed to punish him and I quickly corrected him, saying God gave him to me to guide and correct as needed, so he would learn. God was not going to dole out punishment in the form of lightening from the sky or anything else like that. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but in this instance, it wasn’t really necessary – thank goodness!

My point is, think before you act. Pray before you make a decision. Look before you leap. And resist temptation, no matter how it is disguised.