Are You Resisting the “Right” Kind of Temptation?

When you think of the word “temptation,” what comes to mind? A bunch of stuff you know you shouldn’t do, right? But the truth is we’re also tempted to do right things.

See, God and the devil are constantly at war over our souls because they both want to work through us to reach other people. God wants us to love people and bless them, and Satan wants us to use people and hurt them. Unfortunately, many of us are better at resisting God’s “temptations” rather than the devil’s.

The question we need to ask ourselves each day is: Who am I going to give in to? In other words, which temptation am I going to take?

What I Learned from a Watch and a Bracelet
I remember this watch I used to wear. It wasn’t worth much—I think I paid about $20 for it. Well, one day someone told me how much they liked it and right away, God tempted me to give it to them. I must admit I successfully resisted that temptation.

It might have blessed them greatly, but all I could think of at that moment was how much I liked the watch and how I didn’t want to give it away.
Another day, I was wearing a bracelet and a man complimented me about it saying, “My wife would really like a bracelet like that.” Again, God tempted me to give something away. That day I was strong in the spirit and I slipped it right off my wrist and gave it to him. My flesh didn’t like it. But I knew in my heart I did the right thing.
You see, when we give in to God’s temptations, our flesh may be in momentary pain, but it’s a pain we can live with and ultimately be happy about. On the other hand, when we refuse God’s temptations, all we end up with is regret.
Learning to Yield to the Right Temptations
I love my daily walk with God. I love being led by Him. If you’re going to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, every day will be an adventure because you never know what He’s going to come up with on any given day. And I believe it takes a real closeness with God to just get up every day and follow Him. 
It simply works like this: I spend a lot of time with God, reading His Word and praying so that when I wake up each morning and go about my day, His plans are already on my heart. Yes, I still make mistakes, but when I do, I don’t have to be condemned because I know that I want to do what’s right and I’m trusting God to keep working with me on the issues in my life.
The good news is, as long as you’re continually seeking God and making progress in your walk with Him, He counts it as if you’ve already arrived.
The greater One who lives in you really is greater than he who is in the world. He’s given you His heart and He’s put His Spirit in you—and because of that, you’re able to do all kinds of wonderful things that will bless other people.
So when you wake up each morning, my challenge for you is to simply ask God: What can I do to bless You today? And when He tells you, don’t resist the temptation to obey.

For more on this topic, order Joyce’s three-CD series What Do You Want Out of Life? You can also contact us to receive our free magazine, Enjoying Everyday Life, by calling (800) 727-9673 or visiting www.joycemeyer.org