I asked this question 2 months ago and it is my own fault that I have not received the answer up till now. I was doing my studying today and the answer came in a flash. Has anyone ever asked what the difference between a trial and temptation is? I never really even considered that there was a difference until recently.
Most people use trial and temptation interchangeably, as a matter of fact, rarely is one mentioned without the other, “God save us from trials and temptation” is how we say it. I think the biggest problem with not knowing the meanings of these terms is the fact that people erroneously credit God with one or both. “God has brought this evil upon me, he is testing me”, and “God has brought these trials of evil upon me”. This school of thought is the reason certain people cannot wrap their minds around Gods love because when tragedy hits, they ask, why did God do this to me?
Chapter 1 of James clears this issue up. It starts with something that is hard for me; “Consider it pure joy to face trails of any kind”. Then it goes on to explain how perseverance brings maturity and completeness to our spiritual character. It emphasizes in verse 9 that we should always take pride in our circumstances especially if it is humble because of course, if we let it, it could be a lesson in humility. And if God has seen it fit to bless us with earthly wealth, that circumstance, if we let it, can show us how fleeting life is because all those things can be gone in a flash. This is the nature of a trial. If we pay attention and not whine all the time, a trial takes us through the fire to build the right character in us or in the case of Job, exhibit the type of character lurking in our hearts, a test, just as Abraham was tested in Genesis 22. I pray that no matter the type of trials that come my way, I am able to keep my eyes on the ball, focus on the possible outcomes, character improvement or passing a test, and trust that God knows why he has ALLOWED rather than “brought upon me” a situation which with my human/limited understanding I would consider evil.
James goes on to talk about the nature of temptation in verse 13 of the same chapter. Per my NIV bible, the verb temptation is a “test of one’s moral strength to resist sin”. While a trial is as a result of external influences, temptation is very much the demons within. Our God by his very nature is holy and cannot behold evil. Temptations are birthed by our own carnal thoughts and desires not of God. We think/want something that is greedy, selfish, and covetous or just not of God and instead of mastering that impulse and using the strength that God has given us to overcome it, we give in. Indeed, it is a test of our “moral strength to resist sin”. James continues to describe the nature of temptation in verse 15. After the desire has been conceived, it gives birth to sin and when that sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. Being human and carrying a flesh that Paul referred to as being of a sinful nature in Romans 7, what do we do to overcome temptation?
In Matthew 5, Jesus said if your right hand (70-90% of the world is right handed= random fact) causes you to sin, cut it off; meaning remove any source of sin from your life. I pray that God helps me to master any part of my life that can give birth to sin. I pray for grace to guard my heart from external sources that pollute and produce evil thoughts. Every evil desire should be cut off at conception. I pray for strength to cut off at the root, people or things that increase the frequency of evil desires in my heart.
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