What makes you yield into temptation? If we know this, we are more likely not to yield into temptation. Because then we know for what to pray. And that’s the key to living well. When we invite God into our lives, we are empowered to victorious living.

That’s why the chapter ten of Mary DeMuth‘s new book The Wall Around Your Heart  concentrates on this very important matter. Mary gives us a new way to look at temptations. She writes “It didn’t occur to me that letting fear reign meant I was giving in to temptation.” This simple sentence opens up a new way to look at this Bible verse:

And don’t let us yield to temptation. (Matthew 6:13a, NLT)

When we live in fear, we yield into temptations.
When we live in grace, we are enabled to live victoriously.

How not to fear temptations? How could we instead conquer our fears and live beyond temptations? Mary answers this way:

When we’re tempted in the midst of a painful relationship, we’re prone to seek our comfort, control, and reputation. But mature believers do the opposite. We ask for God’s will to be done, for Him to take divine note of the situation and act on our behalf for the sake of His name, not ours. The temptation is always to build our kingdom, to raise our flag, to herald our agenda, to prove our rightness. But the Jesus way is to pray like He did, and in that, we find deeper growth, greater peace, and stronger faith. In Jesus, we have a sure place to put our pain and the strength to risk again. He heals us enough so we’re no longer afraid to befriend more people. He forgives us when we build walls, and He understands the pain of betrayal in such a way that He can perfectly come alongside us. When we plead with Him to help us resist temptation, we partner with Him in relationship. Because He blesses us with relationship with Him, He enables us to move through our painful friendships and live openhearted.

God calls us to trust him and rest in Him. The Bible tells us to ‘fear not’ over and over again. If we want to live openheartedly and without yielding into temptations, we need Jesus. We need to dump our fears at the foot of the cross and exchange them into extravagant grace. This joyful exchange is God’s gift to us.

When we pray ‘do not let us yield into temptation’, we are saying ‘do not let us yield into living in fear’. Everything bad comes into our lives when we live out of fear. God wants to give us all the good things. We just need to let God replace our fears with his abundant grace. How do we do that? By surrendering to God every morning and living joyfully in Christ.

I have been crucified with the Anointed One—I am no longer alive—but the Anointed is living in me; and whatever life I have left in this failing body I live by the faithfulness of God’s Son, the One who loves me and gave His body on the cross for me. (Gal.2:20, VOICE)

Then we can dance in the front of our fears.
Then we are living beyond temptations.
Then we can live openheartedly and courageously.

 

Gracious God,
How we yearn to live beyond temptations!
We surrender our wills to you.
Come and live in us.
Show us how to dance in the front of our fears.
Enable us to live fully in your grace.
Empower us to live openheartedly now and forever.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you live beyond temptations? Or are you stuck in the mud? What does help you to conquer your fears?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you dare to dance in grace!

Photo courtesy of Kevin Carden, design by Mari-Anna Stålnacke.  Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty, Hear it on Sunday, use it on Monday, Playdates with God, and counting blessings with Ann Voskamp:  #1063 We don’t have to yield into temptations, Jesus has prepared the way. #1064 Victorious living is a gift from God, not our doing. #1065 God is ready to help us 24/7.

I am part of Mary DeMuth’s launch team for her new bookand I have to say that this book absolutely rocks. It’s not only well  written but it is full of uplifting stories that just I can’t capture here on the blog. But make sure to visit the other blogs that are linked up here. They are also blogging through the book. Maybe together we can give a more vivid and accurate picture of the book. Also, make sure to visit this awesome blog where people share how this book has impacted them! You can buy your copy Here or at a bookstore near you. And note that this book will make a perfect gift too! BLESSINGS!