"(1) It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. (2) Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold." ~ 2 Samuel 10:16
This passage may be rather familiar to some of you, and completely foreign to the rest. I'd highly recommend a further reading of this chapter, but for the purposes of this post, I'm going to confine my musings to these two verses.
Let me begin by admitting that I have been struggling with temptation a great deal, lately, and have been asking the Lord for wisdom and help. My main source of temptation is with food, although I am often tempted in other areas, like losing my temper, impatience, etc. A sermon I recently heard (specifically titled "Game On" and "Expect the Same 'Ol Plays by Ross Robinson) as well as the above passage of Scripture have given me much to think upon about temptation.
The first thing that struck me was Pastor Robinson's statement that temptation will come, and that it never comes at a good time. This was rather convicting, because I am usually surprised by temptation, instead of expecting it to show its nasty little face. Silly of me, really, because most of the book of Ephesians is a warning to be ready to fight temptation.
The second "lightening bolt" of insight was that I don't have to be superhuman to fight temptation, nor do I have to give in to it. In the recount of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), Jesus relied on Scripture to fight off the Tempter, not his innate Deity. I can use the same tools He did (Scripture), and I the Tempter will flee! Most of the time, I have an inward fatalism towards temptation, thinking I'll fall to it anyway, so why bother putting up a struggle . . . . Ha! Christ was able to ward off Satan with Scripture. The point is not my own strength, but the strength of God's Word that is able to defeat temptation.
Okay, you might be thinking, what does the passage from 2 Samuel have to do with any of this? I found it interesting that temptation came to David when (1) he was emotionally tired and (2) physically tired. It takes a bit of background reading to know this, but King David had been fighting wars since he was a lad, and at the time of this passage, he was probably sick of them. (When it was the time for the kings to go out to war, David sent his servant Joab, but David stayed in Jerusalem). The other reason I surmise this, is the fact that he awoke in the middle of the night. Generally, people who are at peace do not wake up in the middle of the night. So, I can also deduce that he was physically tired, since he didn't get a full night's rest.
To give a short summation of this way-too-long exposition, I have: (1) Temptation WILL come and it NEVER comes at a good time; (2) Scripture is my only weapon against temptation, and it DOES work; (3) I must be on my guard when I'm physically or emotionally tired.
Okay, sermon's done. For those of you who actually made it to the bottom of this post, thanks! I'm not usually quite so wordy. I hope this is encouraging for you, if you are having some of the same dilemmas I am!
Let me begin by admitting that I have been struggling with temptation a great deal, lately, and have been asking the Lord for wisdom and help. My main source of temptation is with food, although I am often tempted in other areas, like losing my temper, impatience, etc. A sermon I recently heard (specifically titled "Game On" and "Expect the Same 'Ol Plays by Ross Robinson) as well as the above passage of Scripture have given me much to think upon about temptation.
The first thing that struck me was Pastor Robinson's statement that temptation will come, and that it never comes at a good time. This was rather convicting, because I am usually surprised by temptation, instead of expecting it to show its nasty little face. Silly of me, really, because most of the book of Ephesians is a warning to be ready to fight temptation.
The second "lightening bolt" of insight was that I don't have to be superhuman to fight temptation, nor do I have to give in to it. In the recount of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), Jesus relied on Scripture to fight off the Tempter, not his innate Deity. I can use the same tools He did (Scripture), and I the Tempter will flee! Most of the time, I have an inward fatalism towards temptation, thinking I'll fall to it anyway, so why bother putting up a struggle . . . . Ha! Christ was able to ward off Satan with Scripture. The point is not my own strength, but the strength of God's Word that is able to defeat temptation.
Okay, you might be thinking, what does the passage from 2 Samuel have to do with any of this? I found it interesting that temptation came to David when (1) he was emotionally tired and (2) physically tired. It takes a bit of background reading to know this, but King David had been fighting wars since he was a lad, and at the time of this passage, he was probably sick of them. (When it was the time for the kings to go out to war, David sent his servant Joab, but David stayed in Jerusalem). The other reason I surmise this, is the fact that he awoke in the middle of the night. Generally, people who are at peace do not wake up in the middle of the night. So, I can also deduce that he was physically tired, since he didn't get a full night's rest.
To give a short summation of this way-too-long exposition, I have: (1) Temptation WILL come and it NEVER comes at a good time; (2) Scripture is my only weapon against temptation, and it DOES work; (3) I must be on my guard when I'm physically or emotionally tired.
Okay, sermon's done. For those of you who actually made it to the bottom of this post, thanks! I'm not usually quite so wordy. I hope this is encouraging for you, if you are having some of the same dilemmas I am!
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing. I needed to hear this today. It was very encouraging to hear and very insightful. What you had to say gave me pause. I have been struggling with some of the same battles re: food. I have been praying for you, and will continue to do so.
I know I certainly struggle with temptations of all sorts too! Scripture is always a source of strength and comfort to me (when I allow it to be!)God bless you.
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