Pressure Points - September 21
Blog
Taming Temptation: How to Handle Life's Trials
We all face trials in life. They come unexpectedly, in various forms, and sometimes seem relentless. But how we respond to these trials determines whether they become temptations that lead us away from God or opportunities for spiritual growth.
James 1:13-18 provides powerful guidance on how to handle temptation. Let's explore what this passage teaches us about taming temptation in our lives.
What's the Difference Between Trials and Temptations?
Trials are the difficult circumstances we encounter in life. Temptations occur when these trials entice us to do something against God's will. Not all trials necessarily become temptations, but they can create the opportunity for temptation to take root.
James reminds us that trials are certain and spontaneous - they will happen, often unexpectedly. They come in various forms, and sometimes we face the same trial repeatedly before God introduces a new challenge.
How Should We Respond to Temptation?
1. Reject the Lies About Temptation
"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone." (James 1:13)
When facing trials, we're often tempted to blame God. We might think, "You did this" or "You could have stopped this." This bitterness toward God is exactly what temptation wants us to embrace.
Here are common lies about temptation we must reject:
2. Remember the True Source of Temptation
"But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." (James 1:14)
The source of temptation is within us. Even as believers, we still have a sin principle at work in our flesh. Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23 that evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, and other sins come from within the human heart.
This is why Scripture warns, "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." We must never think we've arrived at a place where we're immune to temptation.
3. Recognize the Pattern of Temptation
"Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." (James 1:15)
Temptation follows a predictable pattern:
Most of us can identify patterns in our lives that lead to temptation. Like someone trying to lose weight who drives out of their way for donuts each morning, we often have routines and habits that set us up for failure. Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward changing them.
How Does God Help Us Through Temptation?
1. Acknowledge God's Goodness
"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17)
God is consistently good. He never changes. When temptation whispers that God caused our suffering, we can confidently reject this lie. God uses trials to mature us, correct us, or direct us - but He never tempts us to sin.
Warren Wiersbe notes that "God gives good things constantly." His gifts keep coming down, even when we don't recognize them. Jesus assured us that if earthly parents know how to give good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father give what is good to those who ask Him.
2. Access God's Gift - His Word
"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." (James 1:18)
God has given us His Word as our primary defense against temptation. Scripture is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword," able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
When facing temptation, we can follow Christ's example. In the wilderness, Jesus responded to each of Satan's temptations by speaking Scripture aloud: "It is written..." He quoted Deuteronomy to counter the devil's lies, even when Satan tried to misuse Scripture himself.
Sometimes in the midst of trials, when lies are bombarding our minds, we need to speak God's truth out loud. We need to declare that God is always good, that we will not blame Him for our troubles, and that we will trust Him despite our circumstances.
Life Application
This week, consider how you can apply these principles to tame temptation in your life:
Ask yourself:
Sometimes God allows trials just so we will know how much He loves us.
We all face trials in life. They come unexpectedly, in various forms, and sometimes seem relentless. But how we respond to these trials determines whether they become temptations that lead us away from God or opportunities for spiritual growth.
James 1:13-18 provides powerful guidance on how to handle temptation. Let's explore what this passage teaches us about taming temptation in our lives.
What's the Difference Between Trials and Temptations?
Trials are the difficult circumstances we encounter in life. Temptations occur when these trials entice us to do something against God's will. Not all trials necessarily become temptations, but they can create the opportunity for temptation to take root.
James reminds us that trials are certain and spontaneous - they will happen, often unexpectedly. They come in various forms, and sometimes we face the same trial repeatedly before God introduces a new challenge.
How Should We Respond to Temptation?
1. Reject the Lies About Temptation
"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone." (James 1:13)
When facing trials, we're often tempted to blame God. We might think, "You did this" or "You could have stopped this." This bitterness toward God is exactly what temptation wants us to embrace.
Here are common lies about temptation we must reject:
- That temptation itself is sin (it's not - Jesus was tempted but without sin)
- That God is disappointed when we are tempted
- That being strongly tempted makes us as guilty as if we had committed the sin
- That spiritual maturity will eliminate temptation
2. Remember the True Source of Temptation
"But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." (James 1:14)
The source of temptation is within us. Even as believers, we still have a sin principle at work in our flesh. Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23 that evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, and other sins come from within the human heart.
This is why Scripture warns, "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." We must never think we've arrived at a place where we're immune to temptation.
3. Recognize the Pattern of Temptation
"Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." (James 1:15)
Temptation follows a predictable pattern:
- Internal desire (lust)
- Sin
- Death (separation from God)
Most of us can identify patterns in our lives that lead to temptation. Like someone trying to lose weight who drives out of their way for donuts each morning, we often have routines and habits that set us up for failure. Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward changing them.
How Does God Help Us Through Temptation?
1. Acknowledge God's Goodness
"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17)
God is consistently good. He never changes. When temptation whispers that God caused our suffering, we can confidently reject this lie. God uses trials to mature us, correct us, or direct us - but He never tempts us to sin.
Warren Wiersbe notes that "God gives good things constantly." His gifts keep coming down, even when we don't recognize them. Jesus assured us that if earthly parents know how to give good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father give what is good to those who ask Him.
2. Access God's Gift - His Word
"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." (James 1:18)
God has given us His Word as our primary defense against temptation. Scripture is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword," able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
When facing temptation, we can follow Christ's example. In the wilderness, Jesus responded to each of Satan's temptations by speaking Scripture aloud: "It is written..." He quoted Deuteronomy to counter the devil's lies, even when Satan tried to misuse Scripture himself.
Sometimes in the midst of trials, when lies are bombarding our minds, we need to speak God's truth out loud. We need to declare that God is always good, that we will not blame Him for our troubles, and that we will trust Him despite our circumstances.
Life Application
This week, consider how you can apply these principles to tame temptation in your life:
- Identify your patterns: What situations, relationships, or habits consistently lead you into temptation? Write them down and pray about how to change these patterns.
- Memorize Scripture: Choose one or two verses that address your specific area of temptation. Commit them to memory so you can speak them aloud when tempted.
- Build accountability: Share your struggles with trusted believers who can pray with you and help you stay on track. Remember, we're not meant to fight temptation alone.
- Practice gratitude: When trials come, intentionally thank God for His presence and goodness. This shifts your focus from the problem to the Provider.
Ask yourself:
- What lie about God am I most tempted to believe during difficult times?
- What patterns in my life consistently lead me toward temptation?
- Which Scripture verses do I need to have ready when temptation comes?
- Who can I invite into my life to provide accountability and support?
Sometimes God allows trials just so we will know how much He loves us.
Devo 1 – Rejecting the Lie of Temptation
Scripture: James 1:13
“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”
Devotional Thought:
When trials hit, one of the strongest lies is that God must be the source of our pain. James cuts straight through: God never tempts us. He may allow trials to refine us, but He never lures us into sin. When blame shifts toward God, bitterness takes root. Instead, we remember that temptation is not from Him. He is always good, always faithful, and always on our side.
Questions:
“Father, forgive me when I’m tempted to blame You. Remind me that You are always good, and that temptation never comes from Your hand.”
“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”
Devotional Thought:
When trials hit, one of the strongest lies is that God must be the source of our pain. James cuts straight through: God never tempts us. He may allow trials to refine us, but He never lures us into sin. When blame shifts toward God, bitterness takes root. Instead, we remember that temptation is not from Him. He is always good, always faithful, and always on our side.
Questions:
- Have I ever blamed God for my pain or trial?
- What lies about God’s character am I most tempted to believe in hardship?
- How can I speak truth when my heart is tempted to doubt His goodness?
“Father, forgive me when I’m tempted to blame You. Remind me that You are always good, and that temptation never comes from Your hand.”
Devo 2 – Remembering the Source of Temptation
Scripture: James 1:14–15
“But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Devotional Thought:
Temptation is not from God—it comes from within. Our sinful desires lure us and, if unchecked, lead to destruction. Recognizing this pattern is the first step in resisting. Sin is never sudden; it starts with desire, grows through deception, and ends in death. But in Christ, we are given the Spirit and community to help us break the pattern.
Questions:
“Lord, help me see temptation’s pattern before it takes root. Give me strength by Your Spirit to stop sin at the seed, not after it grows.”
“But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Devotional Thought:
Temptation is not from God—it comes from within. Our sinful desires lure us and, if unchecked, lead to destruction. Recognizing this pattern is the first step in resisting. Sin is never sudden; it starts with desire, grows through deception, and ends in death. But in Christ, we are given the Spirit and community to help us break the pattern.
Questions:
- What patterns of temptation do I see in my own life?
- How can I build guardrails or accountability to interrupt the pattern?
- Am I walking humbly, remembering that I too can fall?
“Lord, help me see temptation’s pattern before it takes root. Give me strength by Your Spirit to stop sin at the seed, not after it grows.”
Day 3 – Recognizing God’s Unchanging Goodness
Scripture: James 1:16–17
“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Devotional Thought:
Trials try to convince us that God has forgotten us. James reminds us that every good thing we have comes from Him—the Father who never changes, never fails, and never stops giving. His gifts are constant, even when we can’t see them in the moment. Trials may shake us, but they cannot change His character.
Questions:
“Father of lights, thank You for every good and perfect gift. When trials tempt me to doubt, help me rest in Your unchanging goodness.”
“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Devotional Thought:
Trials try to convince us that God has forgotten us. James reminds us that every good thing we have comes from Him—the Father who never changes, never fails, and never stops giving. His gifts are constant, even when we can’t see them in the moment. Trials may shake us, but they cannot change His character.
Questions:
- What good gifts in my life right now can I trace back to God?
- How does remembering His unchanging nature bring me peace in trials?
- In what ways has He shown me His goodness this past week?
“Father of lights, thank You for every good and perfect gift. When trials tempt me to doubt, help me rest in Your unchanging goodness.”
Day 4 – Speaking Truth Against Lies
Scripture: James 1:18
“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
Devotional Thought:
God’s Word isn’t just ink on a page—it’s living truth that grounds us when lies bombard us. He has brought us new life through the Word of truth. Jesus Himself modeled this in the wilderness, speaking God’s Word aloud to defeat Satan’s temptations (Luke 4). We are called to do the same: speak Scripture into our fears, doubts, and trials.
Questions:
“Lord, Your Word is truth. Teach me to wield it as a weapon in temptation and to declare it boldly against every lie I face.”
“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
Devotional Thought:
God’s Word isn’t just ink on a page—it’s living truth that grounds us when lies bombard us. He has brought us new life through the Word of truth. Jesus Himself modeled this in the wilderness, speaking God’s Word aloud to defeat Satan’s temptations (Luke 4). We are called to do the same: speak Scripture into our fears, doubts, and trials.
Questions:
- What lie about God or myself do I need to confront with Scripture?
- Do I actively speak God’s Word into my battles, or only read it quietly?
- How can I keep God’s Word close at hand in my daily life?
“Lord, Your Word is truth. Teach me to wield it as a weapon in temptation and to declare it boldly against every lie I face.”
Day 5 – Standing Firm in Trials
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 16:9a
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
Devotional Thought:
Even when trials overwhelm us, God’s eyes are on His people. He is not distant; He is actively watching, strengthening, and supporting those who belong to Him. Just as a young mother encouraged weary grandparents in their trial, God is near—only infinitely more powerful, more faithful, and more loving. Sometimes He allows trials so that we might experience His presence and power more fully.
Questions:
“Lord, thank You that Your eyes are on me and that You strengthen those who are Yours. Help me trust Your presence and lean into Your strength.”
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
Devotional Thought:
Even when trials overwhelm us, God’s eyes are on His people. He is not distant; He is actively watching, strengthening, and supporting those who belong to Him. Just as a young mother encouraged weary grandparents in their trial, God is near—only infinitely more powerful, more faithful, and more loving. Sometimes He allows trials so that we might experience His presence and power more fully.
Questions:
- Where do I need God’s strength to hold me up right now?
- Do I trust that His eyes are on me, even when I feel unseen?
- How can I remind someone else this week that God is near in their trial?
“Lord, thank You that Your eyes are on me and that You strengthen those who are Yours. Help me trust Your presence and lean into Your strength.”
Transcript
Stepping Into James’ Wisdom
Good morning! If you’re our guest this morning, delighted that you’re here. I’m Barkef Osigan. Uh if you’ve been here for a while, by the way, I’m Barkef Osigan. I thought you might want to remember who I am. I’ve been gone for quite a while, but I’m delighted to be back. Thank you. I want to thank the entire exec team and all the staff and all the elders who have allowed Susie and I the freedom to take off and go attend to some family business.
Some of you may know, uh, one of my sons is a missionary across the globe. He and his bride just had their third child. They have a two-year-old. They have a one-year-old and now they have a 10-day-old. I don’t think they have figured it out yet, but we’re gonna try to explain things to them next chance we get. But they’re doing, they’re doing very well.
We did have a few things happen while we were gone, and I’ll share that as we continue on. Now, it is just a delight uh to step in to the book of James. And I know that Michael did a wonderful job introducing the book of James, those first 12 verses. And here’s just by way of reminder. Uh James says this, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”
Now, we know our nation and really across the globe has been dealing with various trials, uh both nationally and internationally. Things have been going on across the globe, some closer to home than others. And Jesus said, “In this world you have tribulation but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
Now the word that’s used here concerning trials can also be translated temptations. And it’s—they’re two related words. And so one is the noun version thereof. That’s in the first 12 verses. And then when we come to verse 13 and following, it’s now the verb version of that.
And when it becomes a temptation is when it’s obvious you’re being enticed through the trial to do something or think something or act out in some way that is against God’s will in your life. So not all trials are necessarily temptations, but they are the groundswell of temptation. They are the opportunity to be tempted to do or think something wrong.
And he says a number of things here. Consider it all joy, my brethren. Not the trial itself. The joy is that God is always with us, even in the trial. Then we can trust him. And we’ll see as we read our passage, he’s always good and he’s never in the temptation. He may allow the trial for purpose, but never is he tempted nor is he in the temptation.
It says “when” or “whenever” some of the translations say, meaning it’s spontaneous and certain—it’s going to happen and it could come out of the blue. This trial, this temptation could come your way. It says “various,” plural, meaning there are many of them. We all are going to go through many trials as long as we’re in this fallen world and have that principle of sin living within this flesh, believer. We’re still going to experience trials and those trials could turn into temptations.
And he says various, meaning of all kinds. Some of us seem to have the same trial over and over again, and then all of a sudden throws in a special new one for you. And we wonder, “What is the world doing? How is my flesh doing battle or not doing battle with who I truly am in Christ?”
And so he brings forth this whole idea. Listen, there are trials and James knew that his fellow believers were going through trials and that that is something we will be dealing with for a long time. And so he’s going to address it in this section, verses 13–18. He gives some warnings and some encouragement, some explanation of how we might respond when we are in the midst of trials, personal scenarios that you’re dealing with.
And so, we’re going to look at that together. I’ve entitled this passage, Taming Temptation. That is, how do we prevent the trials that come upon us from turning into temptations?
And so we are in verses 13 and through 18. And I’ll just read it and then we’ll step in here. “Let no one say when he is tempted, I’m being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil. And he himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lusts—that principle of sin that we continue to wrestle with. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadows. The very one who created the stars is good all the time. Never changingly good. In the exercise of his will, this creator brought us forth by the word of truth so that we believers would be a kind of first fruits among his creatures.”
We’re looking at taming temptation. We all go through various trials, numerous. We will through all of our lives. What do we do with that as believers?
The Source and Pattern of Temptation
And so James steps into this very issue. And some things that we can glean from this passage. First, we can glean from just these first few verses. We can accept God’s guidance concerning how we should respond to trials when we find ourselves in them.
First, he says that we should reject the lie that temptation often brings. Look what he says: “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”
Now, how many people do you know—or perhaps yourself—have gone through a season where you’re angry with God? “You did this. You could have stopped this.” We begin to blame him for the trial that we’re in. And the temptation is to have bitterness toward God himself.
I was talking to a friend recently and his mother was on her deathbed and his brother is continuing to struggle—and he’s been struggling for quite some time in his spiritual life. It turns out his father had died years earlier and he was still bitter about that, let alone now dealing with the second shoe to drop.
We have choices to make. We want to reject the lies that God would cause any of this or that he rejoices in any way in what this fallen world brings upon us. No, God is always good.
One writer talked about the lies concerning temptation. Here’s just a few:
We remember the source of temptation. Look in verse 14: “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.” The bottom line is—understand you still have a sin principle, believer, within you. Don’t forget, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Never think you’ve finally arrived.
In fact, Jesus puts it this way in Mark 7:21 and following. I’m going to give you the New Living Translation here: “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within. That’s what defiles you.”
We have to remember: let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. This idea that there’s ever going to be a moment that you’re going to be perfect in this life is foolishness.
That’s why we have accountability. That’s why we make sure that we’re in community. That’s why we have a cord of three strands—two other people at least that we meet with on some regular basis to share our struggles and our prayer needs and to be there for each other. Because in this life we need others to lift us up and to be accountable to.
“No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also so that you will be able to endure it.”
We can be successful in the midst of our trials. We can be—by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit within—as long as we’re together in community, helping each other to see it rightly.
Accept God’s guidance. Reject the lie of temptation. Remember the source of temptation.
Recognize the pattern of temptation
Look at verse 15: “Then when lust—that inward drive from that sin principle within—has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
Death is simply separation. That’s what happens when you go to a funeral. You’re looking at that inanimate body that once had an animating spirit within it, and it’s gone. It’s separated from that material being. Separation.
We have a trial. We’re tempted to turn it on God and say, “You did this.” Then we embrace that reality and bitterness sets in and now separation takes place. If you belong to him, you’re his forevermore. But the joy of that fellowship has been removed.
God’s desire is that we would walk through the trials of this life successfully. It says it brings forth death. By the way, that could mean physical death.
In fact, Proverbs 11:19 says this: “He who is steadfast in righteousness, walking rightly with the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit, will attain to life, and he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.”
Now, anyone who has anyone close to them who struggles with addiction of any kind—you know it’s possible for a true believer who belongs to God forevermore to go down a road and not turn, and life would be shortened. It’s not God’s desire. They still belong to him forevermore. But oh, how God could have blessed them to be used for his eternal purposes in the here and the now.
Proverbs 27:12 puts it this way: “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”
Now, I’m going to age myself. Does anybody remember Hee Haw? Okay. If you don’t, I understand. It’s okay. But it was a comedy show at one point, and there was a guy named Doc Campbell. And on the show once, Doc Campbell is confronted by a patient who says he broke his arm in two places. To which Doc says, “Stop going to them places.”
God’s desire is that we would understand the pattern of temptation. And don’t we know that truly? If you’ve got a sin that seems to just keep a draw on you, can’t you just stop for a moment and consider the pattern?
Nate Bargatze talks about trying to lose weight. Anybody know who Nate is? If you don’t, you ought to look him up. And so he got a counselor to help him. The counselor said, “Well, the first thing we want to do is we want to talk about what your daily routine looks like.” And he says, “Well, tell me about yesterday.” To which Nate says, “Well, yesterday’s not a good example. Let’s not do that.” “Okay, well, what about the day before? How’d you start your day?” “Well, I had some donuts.” “Oh, were they on the counter?” “No, no, no. I actually drove to get them.” “Oh, were they on the way to work?” “No, actually, they’re in the other direction.”
And we can recognize patterns in our lives, right? And that’s where you ask your cord of three strands, “Hey, look, I’ve got a pattern in my life that I know leads me into a trial in which I fall into temptation. Would you pray with me about this? Will you help me reorient how I order my day?”
God knows. God knows. I don’t know if you were ever told this by your parents, but nothing good ever happens after 10:00 at night. Anybody ever hear that before? You’re out with your compadres—nothing good happens after 10 o’clock at night. Get yourself home.
Taming temptation. Accept God’s guidance. Reject the lies of temptation. Remember the source of temptation. Ultimately, we have to recognize that we have a sin principle, and therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
We want to recognize the pattern of temptation and choose to change our patterns.
God’s Unchanging Goodness
We want to acknowledge God’s goodness. Look in verse 17: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadow.”
He’s never changed. The very one who put the stars in the skies has always been good. He’s never not good and he never changes.
So when the lie says, “Well, God, you did this,” you can say, “No, that’s not true. Why do we rejoice in the midst of our trials? Because we know God is with us. And he will cause all things to work together for good for those who love him, those who are called according to his purpose.”
In what way will he use a trial? Well, one man has put it this way: It will mature us. It will correct us. Or it’ll direct us.
It’ll help us to grow in our faith. It’ll correct us. The writer of Hebrews says, “The child whom the Father loves, he disciplines.” Or it’ll direct us. Sometimes we go through circumstances that make us completely reorient our mindset and we go, “No, wait a minute. Maybe God’s telling me to go here now.”
God uses these trials.
I love what Warren Wiersbe says: “God gives good things constantly. Coming down is a present participle. It keeps on coming down. God does not give occasionally. He gives constantly. Even when we do not see his gifts, he is sending them down.”
That’s why Jesus tells us in Mark chapter 7: “Ask, seek, knock. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be open. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if his son asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being relatively evil by comparison to holy God, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him?”
I mean, just last week in verse 5: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him.” God’s desire is we would acknowledge his goodness and recognize in the midst of a trial, we can turn to him.
“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15).
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
We can turn to him. We can call upon him.
What do we do? How do we tame temptation in our lives? We accept God’s guidance. We acknowledge his goodness.
Speaking Truth Against Lies
We access God’s gift. Look in verse 18: “In the exercise of his will, he, God, brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among his creatures.”
“Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.”
So that we would be a kind of first fruits among his creatures. Listen—Paul makes it clear: “In him, in Christ, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
The Word of God is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joint and marrow, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. He’s given us his Word. We can have access to his Word at any turn and know the truth of the situation and glory in that truth.
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word—the preached Word concerning Christ.” Being with other brothers and sisters in Christ, hearing the truth, being built up in its reality, so that when the lie comes, we recognize it and we reject it.
Paul tells Timothy: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God, the woman of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
By the way, we can also, in the midst of any trial or temptation, follow Christ’s example. We know we’re in spiritual warfare at every moment. We know that from Ephesians chapter 6. And we’re told to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This word is rhema—the spoken word.
There are times we need to just speak out the truth of the Word. Not just read it, not just know it—there are times we need to speak out the truth of the Word of God over all of our doubts in the midst of the trial that’s trying to draw us into temptation.
By the way, Jesus did this in Luke chapter 4. He goes out into the wilderness led by the Holy Spirit for 40 days of fasting—doesn’t eat for 40 days. And the evil one himself shows up. “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
And Jesus answered him, speaking out loud: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’”—quoting directly from Deuteronomy 8:3.
And the evil one led Jesus up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, “I will give you all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I shall give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you worship me, it shall be yours.”
Jesus answered him: “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
Then he led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Jesus: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written…”
Oh, you want to play the “It is written” game? I’ll play it with you. Let’s play it together.
The evil one says: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you”—that’s from Psalm 91:11.
“And on their hands they will bear you up so that you will not strike your foot against a stone”—the evil one quoting Psalm 91:12.
And Jesus answered and said to him: “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
And the evil one left him.
There are times in the middle of our trials when the lies are coming and the evil one is throwing these darts into your heart and your mind—or maybe somebody you love—that you need to arrest the moment and speak out loud the truth of the Word of God.
“God is always good. He’s never not good. I will not blame him for this trouble. I will trust him in the midst of this fallen world. He is worthy to be praised. He is indeed the Alpha and the Omega. Worthy to be praised by all.”
Grandfather Tales: Toddlers and Trials
So Susie and I travel across the globe. It’s 11:36 p.m. for me right now, so if I look sleepy, there’s a reason. We literally traveled across the globe. Our son and daughter-in-law have a two-year-old and a one-year-old, and they are ready to have another.
Now, they had difficulty with number two, and she had to have a C-section. And so they wisely, prayerfully, left the city they were in that did not have a sufficient hospital and went to another location in a larger city where there’s a full-blown hospital and anything you would need. They did an Airbnb and asked us if we would come and help them with the toddlers.
Now, I have five children. My youngest is 26. I’ve changed many a diaper, but it’s been a while. I’m a little rusty. We’re having a great time. Susie and I are basically one-on-one with the two toddlers and we’re just enjoying. We haven’t seen them in a year. They change a lot in a year, by the way. But we were having a great time. And they’re so close in age that anytime we went somewhere, people thought they were twins. “Twins? Twins?” No, they’re not twins.
Now the day comes and in the middle of the night, Ben and Abby go to the hospital. So the training wheels are off. We’re on. So we’re trying to buy some time, and we take them to what is called the ball pit. This is a great playscape area. And we’re going to try to buy some time with these children.
We have a double stroller. And we call what is their version of an Uber. It’s called Grab. Interesting—Grab. So we call them, and we take a 45-minute harrowing travel to this little ball pit place. By the way, there are no car seats. So we’re in that back seat with these children and they’re, you know, doing all this while we’re going, stop and go. The traffic is unbelievable—unbelievable.
We’re surviving. We make it all the way to this place. And this place is a grand place. They had these two huge sections. One is as big as this section of those balls that you used to see at Burger King and McDonald’s. I don’t even know if they still do it, but they were doing it. And there’s one there and then there’s one here. And then they have all that climbing stuff, you know, where you have to climb all up and you’ve got to chase the toddler all the way up and you can’t fit through anything. And then they’ve got the little come-around slide that you’re scraping yourself up on, coming down with the child. You know, we’re doing all this with them.
Then there’s the feeding the goats. Whose idea is this? The most ugly, smelly, poopy animals in the world. And with our toddlers, we’re going to feed the goats.
Then there’s an area that has a pool. It’s a wading pool for the children. And it’s only about this deep, but there’s a wading pool and there’s a sand area. Now, who would put sand next to a pool? I don’t know. But they did. There’s a sand area next to the pool. It’s about 10 feet away and they can play in the sand. Then they have to wash off, and then we can put them in the pool.
So we’re going through this whole process with them. And when we first got there, we have this double stroller and people think they’re twins. We have to explain to them in our English and their broken language that no, they’re not twins. Turns out this thing’s on a hill. You don’t know that when you pull up, but it’s about three stories down. You have to go down these steps. And of course they have a ramp, but the ramp is for a single stroller. Hello. So now we’ve got to take the kids out of the stroller. Now we’ve got to get some help getting all the way down. We get all the way down and we’re exhausted, but we’re going to make this happen because we are the greatest grandparents in the world. This is going to happen, people.
Now we get word that the baby has had difficulties. I don’t know—I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV—but some of you are and you know this already. So when a child is born, they’re breathing through their lungs. I know this is weird, but almost like a fish to be honest with you. But when they come out and they smack them on the bottom, the idea is all that amniotic fluid is shoved, their body responds and pushes it out, and all that amniotic fluid comes out of their lungs so they can actually breathe normally. And then some of the amniotic fluid might still be there and it’ll dissipate.
Well, when Violet came out, that did not happen. The cord was around her neck. They were monitoring it, everything was fine. But when she came out, she’s a little bit purple, and they had to take her to the NICU. Praise God that my children were smart enough to get to a good hospital. So she’s in the NICU for three days. They didn’t even get to hold her for two days.
She’s fine right now. I’ll just tell you up front—she’s beautiful, she’s fine. But we’re having to deal with this while we’re playing with the children and we’re—believe me—we’re praying out loud.
We’re all day in this place, and finally we’re going to let them get in the pool. And I change a diaper and we’re putting on swimmies. Now, I don’t know if you know about swimmies, but they’re a horrible idea, because what a swimmy is is a diaper that you have to hold onto and you can’t throw it away.
So I change a diaper and then I’m over here playing with one child and then all of a sudden I look and this child has exploded in a swimmy. And I did what any grandfather would do: “Susie, there’s an explosion over here. I can’t handle it.”
She says, “All right, let’s switch kids.” So she takes the child and I’ve got the other one over here and she’s in the middle of trying to change the child right next to the pool. We’re trying to get this out and she says, “Barkef, I can’t find the wipes.”
And that’s because Barkef didn’t put the wipes in the right spot. They’re in the bag. She just can’t find them. Sorry about that. “They’re in the bag, sweetheart.” “They’re not where I need them, and I need you now.” So I go running over there to help.
And just as I’m running over there to help, a young mom who’s about mid-20s comes running up and she hands Susie and me this and she pats me on the back and says, “Y’all are doing so good.”
This is what she handed us. This would not take care of half of what was going on, but I appreciated the effort.
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
If that little 20-some mom—her eyes had been on us all that day and she’s feeling sorry for these poor little grandparents and comes up to give us what little help she had—how much more so is God watching over you?
Sometimes I think God allows trials just so we will know how much he loves us. Would you stand and pray with me?
Good morning! If you’re our guest this morning, delighted that you’re here. I’m Barkef Osigan. Uh if you’ve been here for a while, by the way, I’m Barkef Osigan. I thought you might want to remember who I am. I’ve been gone for quite a while, but I’m delighted to be back. Thank you. I want to thank the entire exec team and all the staff and all the elders who have allowed Susie and I the freedom to take off and go attend to some family business.
Some of you may know, uh, one of my sons is a missionary across the globe. He and his bride just had their third child. They have a two-year-old. They have a one-year-old and now they have a 10-day-old. I don’t think they have figured it out yet, but we’re gonna try to explain things to them next chance we get. But they’re doing, they’re doing very well.
We did have a few things happen while we were gone, and I’ll share that as we continue on. Now, it is just a delight uh to step in to the book of James. And I know that Michael did a wonderful job introducing the book of James, those first 12 verses. And here’s just by way of reminder. Uh James says this, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”
Now, we know our nation and really across the globe has been dealing with various trials, uh both nationally and internationally. Things have been going on across the globe, some closer to home than others. And Jesus said, “In this world you have tribulation but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
Now the word that’s used here concerning trials can also be translated temptations. And it’s—they’re two related words. And so one is the noun version thereof. That’s in the first 12 verses. And then when we come to verse 13 and following, it’s now the verb version of that.
And when it becomes a temptation is when it’s obvious you’re being enticed through the trial to do something or think something or act out in some way that is against God’s will in your life. So not all trials are necessarily temptations, but they are the groundswell of temptation. They are the opportunity to be tempted to do or think something wrong.
And he says a number of things here. Consider it all joy, my brethren. Not the trial itself. The joy is that God is always with us, even in the trial. Then we can trust him. And we’ll see as we read our passage, he’s always good and he’s never in the temptation. He may allow the trial for purpose, but never is he tempted nor is he in the temptation.
It says “when” or “whenever” some of the translations say, meaning it’s spontaneous and certain—it’s going to happen and it could come out of the blue. This trial, this temptation could come your way. It says “various,” plural, meaning there are many of them. We all are going to go through many trials as long as we’re in this fallen world and have that principle of sin living within this flesh, believer. We’re still going to experience trials and those trials could turn into temptations.
And he says various, meaning of all kinds. Some of us seem to have the same trial over and over again, and then all of a sudden throws in a special new one for you. And we wonder, “What is the world doing? How is my flesh doing battle or not doing battle with who I truly am in Christ?”
And so he brings forth this whole idea. Listen, there are trials and James knew that his fellow believers were going through trials and that that is something we will be dealing with for a long time. And so he’s going to address it in this section, verses 13–18. He gives some warnings and some encouragement, some explanation of how we might respond when we are in the midst of trials, personal scenarios that you’re dealing with.
And so, we’re going to look at that together. I’ve entitled this passage, Taming Temptation. That is, how do we prevent the trials that come upon us from turning into temptations?
And so we are in verses 13 and through 18. And I’ll just read it and then we’ll step in here. “Let no one say when he is tempted, I’m being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil. And he himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lusts—that principle of sin that we continue to wrestle with. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadows. The very one who created the stars is good all the time. Never changingly good. In the exercise of his will, this creator brought us forth by the word of truth so that we believers would be a kind of first fruits among his creatures.”
We’re looking at taming temptation. We all go through various trials, numerous. We will through all of our lives. What do we do with that as believers?
The Source and Pattern of Temptation
And so James steps into this very issue. And some things that we can glean from this passage. First, we can glean from just these first few verses. We can accept God’s guidance concerning how we should respond to trials when we find ourselves in them.
First, he says that we should reject the lie that temptation often brings. Look what he says: “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”
Now, how many people do you know—or perhaps yourself—have gone through a season where you’re angry with God? “You did this. You could have stopped this.” We begin to blame him for the trial that we’re in. And the temptation is to have bitterness toward God himself.
I was talking to a friend recently and his mother was on her deathbed and his brother is continuing to struggle—and he’s been struggling for quite some time in his spiritual life. It turns out his father had died years earlier and he was still bitter about that, let alone now dealing with the second shoe to drop.
We have choices to make. We want to reject the lies that God would cause any of this or that he rejoices in any way in what this fallen world brings upon us. No, God is always good.
One writer talked about the lies concerning temptation. Here’s just a few:
- The fact that temptation itself is sin. That’s a lie. Temptation itself is not sin. Jesus was tempted but without sin. So we don’t have to feel guilty that we’re tempted.
- God is disappointed and displeased when we are tempted. No, no, no. He’s not displeased that you are tempted. He’s displeased if you step into the temptation.
- To be strongly tempted means we are guilty—as guilty as if we had actually committed the sin. No. The fact that there’s a draw, but by the power of the Holy Spirit we fight it off, that’s victory. God is pleased when, in the midst of temptation, we reject it.
- Here’s probably the most important one: When I am spiritually mature, I will no longer be harassed by temptation. Ha ha ha. No. As long as we’re in this fallen world, as long as we’re in this fallen flesh, we will do battle with trials and temptations. There’s no maturing yourself out of it. There is participating with the Holy Spirit and getting mature to the point of being able to handle it well and more quickly turning the page—that is a reality.
We remember the source of temptation. Look in verse 14: “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.” The bottom line is—understand you still have a sin principle, believer, within you. Don’t forget, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Never think you’ve finally arrived.
In fact, Jesus puts it this way in Mark 7:21 and following. I’m going to give you the New Living Translation here: “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within. That’s what defiles you.”
We have to remember: let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. This idea that there’s ever going to be a moment that you’re going to be perfect in this life is foolishness.
That’s why we have accountability. That’s why we make sure that we’re in community. That’s why we have a cord of three strands—two other people at least that we meet with on some regular basis to share our struggles and our prayer needs and to be there for each other. Because in this life we need others to lift us up and to be accountable to.
“No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also so that you will be able to endure it.”
We can be successful in the midst of our trials. We can be—by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit within—as long as we’re together in community, helping each other to see it rightly.
Accept God’s guidance. Reject the lie of temptation. Remember the source of temptation.
Recognize the pattern of temptation
Look at verse 15: “Then when lust—that inward drive from that sin principle within—has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
Death is simply separation. That’s what happens when you go to a funeral. You’re looking at that inanimate body that once had an animating spirit within it, and it’s gone. It’s separated from that material being. Separation.
We have a trial. We’re tempted to turn it on God and say, “You did this.” Then we embrace that reality and bitterness sets in and now separation takes place. If you belong to him, you’re his forevermore. But the joy of that fellowship has been removed.
God’s desire is that we would walk through the trials of this life successfully. It says it brings forth death. By the way, that could mean physical death.
In fact, Proverbs 11:19 says this: “He who is steadfast in righteousness, walking rightly with the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit, will attain to life, and he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.”
Now, anyone who has anyone close to them who struggles with addiction of any kind—you know it’s possible for a true believer who belongs to God forevermore to go down a road and not turn, and life would be shortened. It’s not God’s desire. They still belong to him forevermore. But oh, how God could have blessed them to be used for his eternal purposes in the here and the now.
Proverbs 27:12 puts it this way: “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”
Now, I’m going to age myself. Does anybody remember Hee Haw? Okay. If you don’t, I understand. It’s okay. But it was a comedy show at one point, and there was a guy named Doc Campbell. And on the show once, Doc Campbell is confronted by a patient who says he broke his arm in two places. To which Doc says, “Stop going to them places.”
God’s desire is that we would understand the pattern of temptation. And don’t we know that truly? If you’ve got a sin that seems to just keep a draw on you, can’t you just stop for a moment and consider the pattern?
Nate Bargatze talks about trying to lose weight. Anybody know who Nate is? If you don’t, you ought to look him up. And so he got a counselor to help him. The counselor said, “Well, the first thing we want to do is we want to talk about what your daily routine looks like.” And he says, “Well, tell me about yesterday.” To which Nate says, “Well, yesterday’s not a good example. Let’s not do that.” “Okay, well, what about the day before? How’d you start your day?” “Well, I had some donuts.” “Oh, were they on the counter?” “No, no, no. I actually drove to get them.” “Oh, were they on the way to work?” “No, actually, they’re in the other direction.”
And we can recognize patterns in our lives, right? And that’s where you ask your cord of three strands, “Hey, look, I’ve got a pattern in my life that I know leads me into a trial in which I fall into temptation. Would you pray with me about this? Will you help me reorient how I order my day?”
God knows. God knows. I don’t know if you were ever told this by your parents, but nothing good ever happens after 10:00 at night. Anybody ever hear that before? You’re out with your compadres—nothing good happens after 10 o’clock at night. Get yourself home.
Taming temptation. Accept God’s guidance. Reject the lies of temptation. Remember the source of temptation. Ultimately, we have to recognize that we have a sin principle, and therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
We want to recognize the pattern of temptation and choose to change our patterns.
God’s Unchanging Goodness
We want to acknowledge God’s goodness. Look in verse 17: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadow.”
He’s never changed. The very one who put the stars in the skies has always been good. He’s never not good and he never changes.
So when the lie says, “Well, God, you did this,” you can say, “No, that’s not true. Why do we rejoice in the midst of our trials? Because we know God is with us. And he will cause all things to work together for good for those who love him, those who are called according to his purpose.”
In what way will he use a trial? Well, one man has put it this way: It will mature us. It will correct us. Or it’ll direct us.
It’ll help us to grow in our faith. It’ll correct us. The writer of Hebrews says, “The child whom the Father loves, he disciplines.” Or it’ll direct us. Sometimes we go through circumstances that make us completely reorient our mindset and we go, “No, wait a minute. Maybe God’s telling me to go here now.”
God uses these trials.
I love what Warren Wiersbe says: “God gives good things constantly. Coming down is a present participle. It keeps on coming down. God does not give occasionally. He gives constantly. Even when we do not see his gifts, he is sending them down.”
That’s why Jesus tells us in Mark chapter 7: “Ask, seek, knock. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be open. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if his son asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being relatively evil by comparison to holy God, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him?”
I mean, just last week in verse 5: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him.” God’s desire is we would acknowledge his goodness and recognize in the midst of a trial, we can turn to him.
“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15).
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
We can turn to him. We can call upon him.
What do we do? How do we tame temptation in our lives? We accept God’s guidance. We acknowledge his goodness.
Speaking Truth Against Lies
We access God’s gift. Look in verse 18: “In the exercise of his will, he, God, brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among his creatures.”
“Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.”
So that we would be a kind of first fruits among his creatures. Listen—Paul makes it clear: “In him, in Christ, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
The Word of God is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joint and marrow, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. He’s given us his Word. We can have access to his Word at any turn and know the truth of the situation and glory in that truth.
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word—the preached Word concerning Christ.” Being with other brothers and sisters in Christ, hearing the truth, being built up in its reality, so that when the lie comes, we recognize it and we reject it.
Paul tells Timothy: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God, the woman of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
By the way, we can also, in the midst of any trial or temptation, follow Christ’s example. We know we’re in spiritual warfare at every moment. We know that from Ephesians chapter 6. And we’re told to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This word is rhema—the spoken word.
There are times we need to just speak out the truth of the Word. Not just read it, not just know it—there are times we need to speak out the truth of the Word of God over all of our doubts in the midst of the trial that’s trying to draw us into temptation.
By the way, Jesus did this in Luke chapter 4. He goes out into the wilderness led by the Holy Spirit for 40 days of fasting—doesn’t eat for 40 days. And the evil one himself shows up. “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
And Jesus answered him, speaking out loud: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’”—quoting directly from Deuteronomy 8:3.
And the evil one led Jesus up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, “I will give you all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I shall give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you worship me, it shall be yours.”
Jesus answered him: “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
Then he led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Jesus: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written…”
Oh, you want to play the “It is written” game? I’ll play it with you. Let’s play it together.
The evil one says: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you”—that’s from Psalm 91:11.
“And on their hands they will bear you up so that you will not strike your foot against a stone”—the evil one quoting Psalm 91:12.
And Jesus answered and said to him: “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
And the evil one left him.
There are times in the middle of our trials when the lies are coming and the evil one is throwing these darts into your heart and your mind—or maybe somebody you love—that you need to arrest the moment and speak out loud the truth of the Word of God.
“God is always good. He’s never not good. I will not blame him for this trouble. I will trust him in the midst of this fallen world. He is worthy to be praised. He is indeed the Alpha and the Omega. Worthy to be praised by all.”
Grandfather Tales: Toddlers and Trials
So Susie and I travel across the globe. It’s 11:36 p.m. for me right now, so if I look sleepy, there’s a reason. We literally traveled across the globe. Our son and daughter-in-law have a two-year-old and a one-year-old, and they are ready to have another.
Now, they had difficulty with number two, and she had to have a C-section. And so they wisely, prayerfully, left the city they were in that did not have a sufficient hospital and went to another location in a larger city where there’s a full-blown hospital and anything you would need. They did an Airbnb and asked us if we would come and help them with the toddlers.
Now, I have five children. My youngest is 26. I’ve changed many a diaper, but it’s been a while. I’m a little rusty. We’re having a great time. Susie and I are basically one-on-one with the two toddlers and we’re just enjoying. We haven’t seen them in a year. They change a lot in a year, by the way. But we were having a great time. And they’re so close in age that anytime we went somewhere, people thought they were twins. “Twins? Twins?” No, they’re not twins.
Now the day comes and in the middle of the night, Ben and Abby go to the hospital. So the training wheels are off. We’re on. So we’re trying to buy some time, and we take them to what is called the ball pit. This is a great playscape area. And we’re going to try to buy some time with these children.
We have a double stroller. And we call what is their version of an Uber. It’s called Grab. Interesting—Grab. So we call them, and we take a 45-minute harrowing travel to this little ball pit place. By the way, there are no car seats. So we’re in that back seat with these children and they’re, you know, doing all this while we’re going, stop and go. The traffic is unbelievable—unbelievable.
We’re surviving. We make it all the way to this place. And this place is a grand place. They had these two huge sections. One is as big as this section of those balls that you used to see at Burger King and McDonald’s. I don’t even know if they still do it, but they were doing it. And there’s one there and then there’s one here. And then they have all that climbing stuff, you know, where you have to climb all up and you’ve got to chase the toddler all the way up and you can’t fit through anything. And then they’ve got the little come-around slide that you’re scraping yourself up on, coming down with the child. You know, we’re doing all this with them.
Then there’s the feeding the goats. Whose idea is this? The most ugly, smelly, poopy animals in the world. And with our toddlers, we’re going to feed the goats.
Then there’s an area that has a pool. It’s a wading pool for the children. And it’s only about this deep, but there’s a wading pool and there’s a sand area. Now, who would put sand next to a pool? I don’t know. But they did. There’s a sand area next to the pool. It’s about 10 feet away and they can play in the sand. Then they have to wash off, and then we can put them in the pool.
So we’re going through this whole process with them. And when we first got there, we have this double stroller and people think they’re twins. We have to explain to them in our English and their broken language that no, they’re not twins. Turns out this thing’s on a hill. You don’t know that when you pull up, but it’s about three stories down. You have to go down these steps. And of course they have a ramp, but the ramp is for a single stroller. Hello. So now we’ve got to take the kids out of the stroller. Now we’ve got to get some help getting all the way down. We get all the way down and we’re exhausted, but we’re going to make this happen because we are the greatest grandparents in the world. This is going to happen, people.
Now we get word that the baby has had difficulties. I don’t know—I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV—but some of you are and you know this already. So when a child is born, they’re breathing through their lungs. I know this is weird, but almost like a fish to be honest with you. But when they come out and they smack them on the bottom, the idea is all that amniotic fluid is shoved, their body responds and pushes it out, and all that amniotic fluid comes out of their lungs so they can actually breathe normally. And then some of the amniotic fluid might still be there and it’ll dissipate.
Well, when Violet came out, that did not happen. The cord was around her neck. They were monitoring it, everything was fine. But when she came out, she’s a little bit purple, and they had to take her to the NICU. Praise God that my children were smart enough to get to a good hospital. So she’s in the NICU for three days. They didn’t even get to hold her for two days.
She’s fine right now. I’ll just tell you up front—she’s beautiful, she’s fine. But we’re having to deal with this while we’re playing with the children and we’re—believe me—we’re praying out loud.
We’re all day in this place, and finally we’re going to let them get in the pool. And I change a diaper and we’re putting on swimmies. Now, I don’t know if you know about swimmies, but they’re a horrible idea, because what a swimmy is is a diaper that you have to hold onto and you can’t throw it away.
So I change a diaper and then I’m over here playing with one child and then all of a sudden I look and this child has exploded in a swimmy. And I did what any grandfather would do: “Susie, there’s an explosion over here. I can’t handle it.”
She says, “All right, let’s switch kids.” So she takes the child and I’ve got the other one over here and she’s in the middle of trying to change the child right next to the pool. We’re trying to get this out and she says, “Barkef, I can’t find the wipes.”
And that’s because Barkef didn’t put the wipes in the right spot. They’re in the bag. She just can’t find them. Sorry about that. “They’re in the bag, sweetheart.” “They’re not where I need them, and I need you now.” So I go running over there to help.
And just as I’m running over there to help, a young mom who’s about mid-20s comes running up and she hands Susie and me this and she pats me on the back and says, “Y’all are doing so good.”
This is what she handed us. This would not take care of half of what was going on, but I appreciated the effort.
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
If that little 20-some mom—her eyes had been on us all that day and she’s feeling sorry for these poor little grandparents and comes up to give us what little help she had—how much more so is God watching over you?
Sometimes I think God allows trials just so we will know how much he loves us. Would you stand and pray with me?