Fighting Temptation

What temptation do you face on a daily basis? Laziness? Bitterness? Selfishness? Covetousness? Follishness? Faithlessness? Heartlessness? Deceitfulness? Greed? Gluttony? Gossip? Hatred? Rebellion? Sexual immorality? Judgmentalism? Lust? Pride? Or all of the above?
James 1:13-15 affirms a reality that we are all too familiar with, which is that in this life, you will face temptation and there is no way of completely escaping it. Even Jesus faced temptations from Satan when he was led out into the dessert by the Spirit (Mat 4:1-11). James goes on to explain that being tempted is not a sin, but fulfilling temptation does give birth to sin and sin to death. So the question I want to ask is this, “How can a weak and sinful man like me fight temptation?”
A great example of this occurs in Genesis 39, where Joseph is a servant to a high ranking political leader (Potiphar) in the most powerful country in the world, Egypt. Blessed by the LORD, Joseph becomes extremely successful and his master puts him in charge of all he has. Then, like a bad soap opera, the Potiphar’s wife gets a crush on Joseph and begins to seduce him. On many occasions she tries to lure Joseph into bed with her, and even though he is far from family and friends, time and again he fights temptation and refuses her invitation. You may wonder, “Where does a single, lonely, sinful man like Joseph get the strength to successfully fight temptation? I wish I had Joseph’s same strength.”
The source of Joseph’s strength is woven throughout Genesis 39 when it is mentioned not once, nor twice, nor thrice, but four times that Joseph’s success over temptation comes from God Himself. In 39:2,3,21 and 23 the same phrase is repeated, “The LORD was with Joseph.” Upon first discovering this, I wondered why God repeats Himself so many times, and then I realized, “God’s presence must be important, not just that, it must be life altering important as we fight temptation.” Here is the good news, if you trust Jesus death on the cross as a payment for your sins, you don’t merely get forgiveness from God, you get God! The all mighty, ever lasting and all powerful God is with you, whether you feel Him there or not! So in the midst of temptation, like Joseph you must acknowledge God’s presence, depend on His strength and ask yourself, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” God is with you right now and forevermore, remember it, proclaim it and enjoy Him forever.