"Don't be fooled by your own desires" - James 1:13-16

This is a sobering look at temptation and what it truly looks like.  

I put myself in the same camp as those who have blamed God for my bad choices, it is only when I take the time to realize that it was me who made the wrong decision and went down a path that was detrimental to my future that I finally put on the brakes and realize the error of my choices and started moving in the right direction.

Being "tempted by evil" mentioned in the above scripture is where the enemy of our soul uses what we have which is our own desires against us, sometimes it is our desires which are peppered with different emotions which seem right at the time but get twisted and formed into something that God never intended for us.  

The enemy even appears to us to convince us that doing the right thing is good even if doing the right thing is contrary to what the Lord wants us to do.  

We tend to default to past experience as our guide to determine if we have success with overcoming temptation or not, saying “well when I did this or that and it worked last time” God never requires us to depend upon our past experiences to determine our decisions for the present.  

God wants us to hear Him and be led by Him through all temptation or testing in our lives so that He may gain the victory in our lives, that is also called glory.

“We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 (TPT)

The enemy also has another trick up his sleeve which is appearing as an “angel of light” a counterfeit voice attempting to convince us that He is actually the voice of the Lord and he leads us astray from hearing the true voice of the Lord. 

“And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light.”

2 Corinthians 11:13 (MSG)

Satan’s greatest deception was in the garden of Eden when he masqueraded as an angel of light deceiving Adam & Eve to turn away from the voice of the Lord and listen to him, it has been a struggle since that time to remain focused on the voice of the Lord and not be led astray.

Thank God for Jesus Christ who is our path to the Father, He sends us the Holy Spirit which helps us to recognize the true voice of the Lord.  Here are several ways the Lord speaks to us:

• God speaks through His Word
• God speaks through our thoughts
• God speaks through conversations with others
• God speaks through circumstances

It is through these ways that we can be sure we are hearing the voice of the Lord, and if something is questionable, then we take it to the bible to determine if this is the true heart of Jesus for the situation.  Jesus is the true representation of the Father.

“His Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s being. He holds everything together through his powerful words. After he had cleansed people from their sins, he now holds the honored position—the one next to the majestic God [the Father] on the heavenly throne.” 
Hebrews 1:3 (GW)

When we are tempted (or tested) by life’s circumstances, we can choose to listen to our own desires which may or may not be born out of faith in Christ.  We need to know the difference and choose what is actually of faith so that sin does not color our decisions.

“And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him.” Hebrews 11:6 (TPT)

James makes a point “not to be fooled” by our own desires for they can be misleading if we put the full weight of our confidence in our desires alone, listen for the still small voice of the Lord which speaks to us about what He desires, when coupled with faith our actions can produce great things.  

We may not see the immediate results of those great things, but our actions will always have long term effects which can produce results in our lives which can reflect the true nature and character of the Lord.

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett