Yield Not!

James 1:12 :  “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to those who love Him.”

     God always keeps his promises and the Holy Scriptures are replete with promise after promise of blessings that God wants to bestow upon those faithful to him.  Life will present different challenges, many designed to develop us into stronger, more God-fearing followers; others mask the evil one’s attempt to thwart the destinies that God has pre-ordained for us; and some challenges are temptations that test our resolve to do the right thing. I encourage you today to closely check out the things that are bombarding you and see the real cause for the frustrations and challenges you are suffering.  It could be that temptations are lurking at your door but disguised in ways that are subtle and often undetected.  For example a sure fire way to throw someone off of their game is to use the art of distraction.  When we are distracted we lose our focus and can waste valuable time trying to make up lost ground.  Some distractions seem so harmless and often can on the surface be ‘good’ things to do; but if they are not a part of your walk, then even good intentions will turn out to be time-wasting, blessing-delaying temptations.  

     Staying in touch with friends and keeping in the know can be important gestures, but if you can’t manage to stay off of Facebook or Twitter for more than 30 minutes before you feel the need to update your status, you could be the victim of distraction.  If you are really not one of the primary persons involved in a conversation yet you feel the need to put in your two cents; you have fallen prey to the temptation of needing to be heard. Notice that the power scripture tells us to endure temptation – not rebuke, reprove or cast it away– but endure it.  In essence, it is not going away, but you don’t have to succumb to it.  Know what it is and treat it accordingly.  If God says endure, then it means it can be done and we just need to hang in there.  Let us be mindful that the temptations around us will escalate as we get closer to reaffirming our faith in God and the power of the resurrection of his son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Every day is a good day it is up to us to make it a GREAT power-filled day.  Be blessed! Dr. JoAnn