My child, if sinners entice you do not consent. Proverbs 1:10.A fourth use of the idea of 'testing' in the Bible has to do with God testing his people for their good. These trials produce endurance and patience (James 1). They result in a more genuine faith (1 Peter 1:6,7). If weathered in the right spirit, they bring approval from God, and hope to ourselves, impossible as this may seem (Romans 5:3-5). Nothing worthwhile is ever learned except in the school of adversity.
Fifth, the worst kinds of testing are the attacks of Satan. The devil is always at work to destroy our faith and hope; he is the implacable foe of God and good (1 Peter 5:8). But Satan can only work his evil purposes within limits set by God (Job 1:12). His attacks come to us through the allurements of the world outside us, or the perversion of physical desires (such as sexual lust, gluttony, laziness or greed), or by Satan himself sowing evil thoughts in our minds (1 John 2:15-17). The bait on the hook is very desirable; the steps to our fall were described by Eve in the Garden of Eden: 'I saw, I coveted, I took.' So we rationalize, 'Everybody's doing it. It can't be too bad...'
Lord, help me to devote myself to prayer... so that Satan may not tempt me because of my lack of self-control. (1Corinthians 7:5). Amen.
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