Shoring Up The Foundations of Your Life
An old Frank and Ernest cartoon had the two characters looking at each other with a caption below them saying, “How come opportunity knocks only once, but temptation beats the door down everyday?” Another version of that saying is, “Opportunity only knocks once but temptation leans on the doorbell.” The Bible reminds us of some basic facts about temptation.
1. It is common to all—1 Cor. 10:13 - “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man…” Even Jesus was tempted— Heb. 4:15 - “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
2. As you scan the pages of scripture you find the common thread of temptation woven among all of the great characters of the Bible— Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Saul, David, Solomon, Peter and Paul.
3. The Bible tells us that temptation is not something that comes from God— James says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
Given the fact that temptation is a reality that all of us face. Given the fact that the source of temptation is Satan himself who stirs up desire and lust within our lives and given the fact that the results of temptation are so dire what steps can we take to overcome it?
The time to prepare your home to withstand a storm is not in the last few minutes before it is hit. The time to prepare is when the foundation is being laid. Jesus spoke of the difference between the wise man and the foolish man in Matthew 7: 24-27. He likened the man who hears his teachings and does them to a wise man who built his house on the rock so that it might withstand the storms of life. He likened the man who hears his teachings and ignores them to the foolish man who built his house on the sand where it later collapsed when the winds and the rains came.
The time to prepare your home to withstand a storm is not in the last few minutes before it is hit. The time to prepare is when the foundation is being laid. Jesus spoke of the difference between the wise man and the foolish man in Matthew 7: 24-27. He likened the man who hears his teachings and does them to a wise man who built his house on the rock so that it might withstand the storms of life. He likened the man who hears his teachings and ignores them to the foolish man who built his house on the sand where it later collapsed when the winds and the rains came.
What distinguished these two men from one another was not what they did during the storm. It’s what they did before the first storm cloud ever darkened the sky. The reason so many people cannot withstand temptation is because they have not properly fortified their lives. They’ve not built their lives on a solid spiritual foundation. Satan knows our vulnerabilities. He knows the areas where we are weakest. The areas that need to be strengthened.
This was certainly true in the life of King David when he was tempted to commit adultery with Bathsheba. Do you think that temptation just happened? Was it merely a coincidence? Was David’s decision to engage in this sin a one time fluke? Think again.
As good a man as David was as you look at his life you discover that there were some noticeable cracks in the very foundation of his life. In the first place there was a background of polygamy and lust. Though this seemed to be the cultural norm of David's day it certainly was not the law of God. In Deut. 17: 15-17, the law of God said concerning the king of Israel, “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” But look at David. 2 Sam. 5:13 tells us, “David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem and more sons and daughters were born to him.” No one seemed to mind. Even though his harem grew so did David's lust. Even a palace full of beautiful women was not enough to keep David’s eyes from wandering.
It’s also true that a spirit of complacency had enveloped David.
We are often most vulnerable in times of success. Back in the 1970's a young Frenchman captured the attention of the world by walking a tightrope between the towers of the World Trade Center. That was quite an impressive feat when you consider that the towers stood at over 1,350 feet high. A few months later he was in St. Petersburg, Florida practicing his tightrope walk. The wire was only 30 feet off the ground (compared to 1,350 feet that doesn’t seem too high). But amazingly he lost his balance and fell to the ground. People around him said that as he was lying on the ground waiting for help he was beating his fist into the ground yelling out, “I can’t believe it!I can’t believe it! I never fall!”
When things are going well in your life and you think you have everything under control watch out. It’s during those times that Satan can catch you off guard and the next thing you know is you’ve fallen into temptation. Everything was going so well for David he didn’t feel the need to go out with Joab to lead the troops in battle. He’d been there and done that. Better to just stay a home. But on a quiet evening at home with nothing to keep his mind occupied David stepped out on the balcony of the palace and saw this beautiful woman bathing. It was no coincidence. Satan knew exactly where and when David was most vulnerable.
(more next time)
