"The Devil Can't Make Me Do It" or "It's All On You!"

I just spent the last fifteen minutes reading the latest "newsworthy" headlines on AOL.com.  That's fifteen minutes of my life I am never getting back!  Admittedly, AOL's idea of news is anything that is sensational, popular, or scandalous; HOLLYWOOD TRASH = hits, but I normally just browse through for human interest pieces, or bizarre stories.  Today, however, the temptation just proved to be too much -- or did it?

Just the other day I was listening to a radio sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:13.  The pastor was speaking of God's faithfulness, that if we were to call on Him, He will always help us through our temptations.  As he was speaking, the thought that struck me was, "If God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability, as this verse promises, then the reverse must be true -- if we succumb to temptation we must have had the ability to fight it but...

...didn't?  Because it was just so much easier to give in?"

...wouldn't?  Because we were willfully demanding to have or do what we wanted?"

...couldn't?"  Nope!  While it is true we are only human, we have the resource of a most powerful, loving, faithful God who is longing for us to call His name and ask His help.  This verse assures us of that: "...He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape..."  Whatever abilities have been given to us by God are exactly what we need to fight the "fiery darts of Satan.", and whatever we are lacking, we can ask it of God; He certainly does not want us to fall to temptation. (1 John 5:14-15)

Whether it is fifteen minutes of wasted time, or fifteen years of drug abuse, God wants to keep us from temptation; He won't allow Satan to set us up for failure, but will not make us resist doing what we shouldn't.  We can only fail ourselves.

James 4:7 (ECV) "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."