The Bible says we cannot be tempted above our strength (1 Corinthians 10:13). Yet, the stories of Christians who fall into temptation are so common that it is worth mentioning it. If God has given you tools not to fall into temptation and you keep falling, it just means there is still rebellion in you or there is a weakness that Satan knows how to handle for you. And the main problem is that many believers start their Christian walk thinking God being the almighty, He is also Santa Claus who will wipe their weaknesses once they give their lives to Christ. My brother, my sister, Jesus gave you the opportunity to have your past, present and future sins (the results of your selfish actions or decisions) forgiven… and He also gave you what you need to resist temptation. My friend, temptation comes from the devil, and until the end of time. You see, Satan is not omnipresent. Sometimes, things run smoothly in your life, then you think “Gd is with me” and somewhere down deep in your mind you think the devil ran away from your space because God is with you. Such thinking is wrong: God never left Job even when Satan asked God to let him tempt Job. So it is the same with you: He is always with you. However, He can allow Satan to tempt you to test your integrity and your faithfulness as He allowed this to happen to Job. Nevertheless, Satan himself has his own destructive plan against you on his agenda. Now, your reaction alone will tell you about the level of your commitment to the Lord. Even Job’s wife told him to curse God and die, but Job loved God more than his own life, so he resisted all temptations and was restored seven times more. My friend, never forget that Satan cannot be everywhere at the same time. When you don’t see him active in your life, know that he is still looking for an open back window to enter as a thief anyway. And He knows how to come in: why do you want him to entice you or trap you with what you don’t care about? If you check your life, you will see that you always fall on the same things: someone who once stopped smoking will resume and now even his friends will offer him cigarettes for free just so he plunges further; someone who stopped lying will resume and get even further from the truth; someone who had stopped going to a nightclub will return even on weekdays. When the same kind of temptations often appear, then know that it is a weakness to overcome, because Satan studies your weaknesses by observing how you react whenever he temps you… and it is in that very area he sees he can make you fall in disobedience to God.. and so, he will continue coming back in the same area, because his purpose is to destroy you so that God’s plan will not be fulfilled in your life. The problem is that believers don’t know that Satan is not smart enough to scheme another plan against them. However, when you manage to resist him in one area, he will start looking for another one. That’s why the Bible says: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). You see, as long as you keep your set on the Lord Jesus, you will resist, because the devil wants you to focus more on yourself, so he will be able to make you doubt God’s promises, doubt about your faith, doubt about your situation… now, if you focus on Christ, there is no place for you to start feeling sorry for yourself about yourself, let alone boast about your situation as the devil wants you to do. Therefore, you can resist the temptation by resting on the Lord, reading and meditating on His Word and keeping your eyes set on Christ, nothing else. No prayer will help you out of temptation or avoid you to fall if you do not know the Word of God that can address that temptation, but especially if you do not put the Word into practice. Why? Because the Bible says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Yes, for the devil to flee when you resist, you first need to submit to the Lord! Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [facebook] [retweet]