The average believer would never consider the word joy to be an appropriate descriptive term for temptations. There is a great explanation for this as the average believer experiences little to no victory when tempted. Temptations put a man’s faith on trial. When his faith stands the test, he learns patience. Therefore, he sees temptation as a means by which he can grow in the Lord and add virtues such as patience. It is not that he finds joy in the temptation itself, but that God can and will use that temptation to make him "perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:4). Believers who fight through and obtain victory find joy in knowing that their faith pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).
Man never sins without willingly doing so. Unfortunately, man’s vocabulary infers that sin is simply an uncontrollable accident or unfortunate mistake. Yet, in reality, we choose to sin. This is extremely obvious when one considers that the Lord promises “a way to escape” during every temptation. It is not that the Lord offers a way to avoid temptation altogether, but He offers help that man “may be able to bear it [the temptation].” Man can never point his finger toward God in an attempt to assign some level of guilt for man’s sins. God always makes a way for man to righteously endure and conquer every type of temptation known to man. The failure to escape from any temptation is not for lack of opportunity to do so.
Man has no greater high priest than the Lord Jesus Christ for the Lord knows what man endures. Like man, He was tempted in all points. In a basic sense, man’s temptations involve three distinct facets: “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). During the Lord’s earthly ministry, He faced and conquered temptation in each area (Matthew 4:1-11). As such, the Lord is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). He knows what it is like to face the temptation to depart from the will of God. He knows what it is like to be tempted to sin against the Heavenly Father. Yet, He differs from man in that His temptation was without the knowledge of sin, for He was victorious in all points.
Loyalty may seem to go unobserved but eventually yields unexpected and momentous dividends. The story of Esther’s uncle uniquely exemplifies this point. Mordecai sat in the king’s gate in Shushan. One day, while he sat in the gate, he overheard two men plotting to kill the king. When Mordecai heard the news, he immediately repeated these words to Queen Esther, thus foiling the plot. The two men were tried, found guilty, and ultimately executed. At first, Mordecai’s loyalty seemed to remain unnoticed, but one night the king was troubled and could not sleep. His servants, by divine providence, read the record of Mordecai’s loyalty to him (Esther 6:1-3). Soon thereafter, Mordecai’s loyalty was rewarded (Esther 6:4-11). His loyalty most likely saved his life and spared the lives of countless Jews (see Esther chapter 7).
As the people had honoured the Lord, they had honoured Moses. When Moses placed his honour upon Joshua, he did so in order to encourage the people’s obedience and loyalty toward Joshua. Moses wanted the same loyalty that had been directed toward him now directed toward Joshua. God’s people could have risen up against Joshua thinking that he had not accomplished enough to merit their loyalty. Yet, the people respected the fact that Moses had directly placed his own honour upon his minister Joshua. The people emphatically accepted Moses’ message as reflected by their answer to Joshua: “According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses” (Joshua 1:17).
Loyalty sometimes comes at the steepest of prices! For some, the cost may seem minimal, but for others it has cost them deeply, dearly, and sometimes completely. Throughout history, the people of God have endured mocking, persecution, and even martyrdom. God offers us the record of many who chose to suffer rather than recant their proclaimed faith in the Creator. Many things have changed since ancient times, but those choosing to walk with the Lord today will likewise see an escalation in all forms of persecution. This tribulation from the world will become increasingly worse as man continues to be influenced by ungodliness. Believers should willingly endure whatever cost loyalty may require by keeping in mind the ultimate price paid when Christ gave Himself for mankind. Though the list in Hebrews chapter 11 has been closed, the Lord continues to track the actions of those loyal to Him.
Sometimes the Bible conveys some disheartening truths including man’s inability to love the Lord during difficult times. Regrettably, believers are easily offended and sometimes even scattered from the Lord because of a lack of resolve. The Lord prophesied in Zechariah 13:7 concerning His followers’ reaction to His rejection. Though the Lord knows the future, consider how this rejection must have grieved Him when it actually transpired. At a time when any faithful disciple should have been loyal to his Master, those closest to the Lord were instead scattered. The One that fed them when they were hungry (Mark 6:35-44), healed family members when ill (Mark 1:29-31), calmed the troubled waters during the storms (Mark 4:37-41), and taught them many wonderful truths was now the cause of their offence.
God offered man the greatest statement of loyalty when Christ promised never to leave the believer. The Lord did not promise some type of reciprocating loyalty conditioned upon man’s loyalty toward Him. Rather, the Lord promised He will “never leave . . . nor forsake.” Man’s frailty offers God numerous reasons and opportunities to justify leaving and forsaking, but God’s character overrides man’s frailty. If the Lord promises loyalty, He fulfils that promise without requiring reciprocity. According to 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise.” Once a man is born again, he becomes a child of God and immediately becomes the beneficiary of promised loyalty given to him by the Son of God.
God knows everything about everything, yet Christians sometimes act as though He has some debilitating limitations. Once again, the Bible shines the light of truth upon the matter. It reveals that He is great, “and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). In fact, His eyes “are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). In other words, there is nothing that escapes the knowledge and attention of God. This includes the good and the bad! The Son of God proclaimed to the church at Thyatira that He knew their works, charity, service, faith, and patience. He too knows about the level of a man’s faith! He knows the content, strength, and reality of that faith. A man can and will fool others and frequently even deceives himself (Jeremiah 17:9), but he has no capacity to mislead God. The Lord knows those who believe and accept His word as the perfect word of God and He is not unrighteous to forget (Hebrews 6:10).
God wants to answer prayer. As a loving, compassionate Father, God wants to regularly hear from His children. Prayer is a matter of life and death for believers. Yet, sin hinders prayers and operates as the enemy to getting prayers answered. Though several sins are identified as hindrances, unbelief stands as prayer’s chief opponent. Believers should approach God’s throne of grace with boldness (Hebrews 4:16) knowing that God can and will reward the diligent seeker (Hebrews 11:6). In today’s passage, the believer is challenged to come to God in faith without wavering. A man who comes to the Lord with a wavering heart should realize that his double minded ways hinder his prayers and directly impact his relationship to the Lord (James 1:7). Ask and receive in faith.
