The temptations in your life are no different from what others
experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more
than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that
you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
The tree
was unlike any other tree I had ever seen.
Two peach
trees stood on the other side of the privacy fence, separating our small
subdivision from a lot of woods and a neighboring business’s back parking lot.
They belonged to our neighbor across the road. The young trees filled with
blooms and small peaches every year in early spring. And every year, the
squirrels and birds that lived and played in the trees in those woods ate every
one of the peaches as soon as they reached the size of a golf ball.
One year,
as I rounded the fence on my daily walk, something in the tree startled me: a
snake. Not one to overly fear snakes, I walked closer to see whether it was
poisonous. That’s when I noticed it wasn’t a real snake at all. Our neighbors
had placed a rubber snake three feet up in the tree, hoping to scare off the
squirrels and birds.
The trees
continued to change as I walked each day. I suppose the snake wasn’t enough—or,
at least, the neighbors didn’t think so. They wanted peaches … badly. The
following items were tin pans. They had cut them in half and tied them to
various limbs in the tree—a trick I had used in my gardens. A trick that also
had not worked when it came to keeping out deer. Perhaps it would work for
squirrels and birds.
One day,
as I rounded the corner of the fence, I jumped, thinking someone was standing
near the tree. They weren’t. Our neighbors had stuck a tomato cage in the
ground near one of the trees and decorated it with clothes. Another “person”
hung in the other tree, waving like a Halloween ghost.
But even
all of the above wasn’t enough. Our neighbors perched a fake owl on the fence.
They also hung pieces of hose in both trees, along with other implements—even a
plastic gorilla. So many things, in fact, that it was difficult to see the
small peaches anymore. The wife wanted to make sure this tree wasn’t a
temptation tree for squirrels and birds. She wanted peaches and set out to do
whatever it took to get them.
Satan has
a way of acting like my neighbor: decorating things up a bit so they look good
and beneficial. That way, I don’t see how harmful they might be to my body,
soul, and spirit.
But my
neighbor prepared, which is the only way to adequately face temptation. In the
heat of the moment, without any forethought, I’ll make the wrong choice every
time, but when I’ve stored up a pattern of spiritual disciplines—Bible study,
prayer, meditation, worship, fellowship—I’ll be more prepared to face and
reject what Satan uses to entice.
Accepting
Christ results in a new nature—as well as a new want—which leads us in new
directions. Paying attention to God’s Spirit as he works through this new
nature helps keep us away from the pretty things Satan hangs in our life’s
trees to entice us.
When we
decide not to sin against God, he will give us the power to do just that—at
least sinning will not be the norm. He promises to show us a way out when we
look and assures us he won’t allow the temptations to grow so intense that we
could say, “God, I couldn’t help myself.”
Don’t let
life’s temptation trees take your eyes off obedience to God.
Father,
give me strength to overcome the temptations Satan hangs before me.
Tweetable: Which temptation tree tempts you?
I invite you to try my newest book, Grits, Grace, and Grands, in eBook or paperback. If you are an editor who wants to hone your grammar skills or someone who just wants to improve your writing or speaking, this is the book for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.