Trusting God in the Face of Temptation

TRUSTING GOD IN THE FACE OF TEMPTATION

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date:   December 29, 2019

Series: Stand-Alone Sermons

Note:   Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Temptation is a battle for your future. ‘Future’ includes the rest of today, the rest of this week, the rest of your life, and the eternity beyond. God promises a better future to anyone who would trust Him, but temptation pretends to offer you a better future.

All of us are familiar with temptation. Instead of doing what we are supposed to do with energy and excellence, we are tempted to be lazy and to cut corners. Instead of telling the truth, whether in private conversation or on our tax forms, we are tempted to exaggerate, mislead, or downright lie. Instead of exercising self-control over our appetite, we are tempted to have that extra piece of pie on Christmas Day or that extra plate of nachos on New Year’s Eve. Instead of being content with the twenty-five toy options before us, we feel that our future happiness (‘future’ being the next two minutes!) depends entirely on taking that one toy from our brother or sister.  

The lure of temptation is always at odds with our privilege to trust God for future blessing. Trusting God in the face of temptation means that I wait patiently on God to satisfy the longings of my heart in His time and in His way. By contrast, temptation operates with Burger King logic: “Have it your way” or “Your Way Right Away” or “When you have it your way, it just tastes better” or simply “Your Way.”[1]

Over and over again the living God says to us: My way, My timing. Trust Me!

And over and over again temptation lies to us: Your way, your timing. Take it!

Every one of us – the old and the young, the richer and the poorer, the men and the women – come face to face with temptation on a regular basis. The question is: will you trust God to make good on His promises to you – at the time of His choosing and in the way that He sees fit? Or will you go your own way and grab the easy, low-hanging fruit ahead of time?  

Temptation Runs Deep

Temptation isn’t just about whether or not you will do the right thing. That’s part of it, of course: we really ought to do what is right and not do what is wrong. But temptation runs way deeper than that. Temptation isn’t just about adhering to a written list of do’s and don’ts. Far beyond that, temptation taps into your desire for a good, satisfying, and blessed future.

Everyone wants to be happy, and every human being wants to be happy in the future – whether ‘future’ is understood as ‘ten seconds from now’ or ‘ten days from now’ or ‘ten thousand years from now’. From the vantage point of this present moment, the next second to the dawn of eternity is all future – and we all want to have a future that is full of joy.

This desire for a blessed future is a healthy, human desire. You ought to desire a blessed future, and you ought to pursue it with all your might, provided that you do so on God’s terms, not your own. Don’t let Satan whisper into your ear that God wants you to be a dutiful moral doer, and nothing more. For Scripture makes it clear that God wants to satisfy, exhilarate, nourish, and strengthen you:

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

hear, that your soul may life;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 55:1-3).

Did you hear that? God invites poor, thirsty, bankrupt people into a better, delightful, satisfying future. The Lord isn’t looking for people who do nothing more than toe the line in their outward conduct. Instead He is looking for people who yearn “for the courts of the LORD” (Psalm 84:2), who find God’s Word more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10), and “who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6).

The God of abundant mercy promises a wonderful, eternal future for everyone who trusts in Him: “He will dwell with [his people]” and “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:3, 4). 

We must understand that the problem of temptation is not the problem of desire, but the problem of misdirected desire. Desire itself is fundamentally good – it is an important part of our humanness. C. S. Lewis hit the nail on the head when he wrote,

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”[2]

When temptation rears its ugly head, it doesn’t say: You should do this, you know, because it will make your life so much worse, deplete your capacity for joy, steal your future, fracture your relationships, and riddle you with guilt. Go for it! That is the voice of wisdom, not the voice of temptation. Temptation doesn’t promise to do bad things for you. Of course, if temptation were truthful it would promise to do bad things for you, but temptation isn’t truthful. Temptation brokers in lies and deception. Temptation masquerades as the voice of reason and sanity. It is alluring and seductive. And it pretends to offer you a better future.

Which voice will you trust for a better future? God’s voice, or someone else’s?

EXAMPLES OF TEMPTATION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Temptation of Eve in Genesis 3

Most of us are familiar with the very first temptation that presented itself to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Notice that the tempter promised Eve a better future: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) The temptation wasn’t, Eat that fruit because it will be fun. Instead, the temptation was calling upon Eve to take her future into her own hands and to make her future better.

The logic of the temptation went like this. 1)  Right now, Eve, your eyes are closed and your understanding is limited, but you could quickly become a genius. Eat from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17), and you will become knowledgeable and wise. 2) Right now, Eve, you are not like God, but you could quickly become godlike. God doesn’t have your best interest in mind, but if you eat from that special tree, you will immediately achieve elite ‘god’ status. The temptation promised Eve a better future in which she is a divine genius who gets to be the god of her own moral universe. But the tempter lied: when Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she only succeed at becoming a miserable fool.

Will you trust God to mature you in true knowledge and true wisdom in His appointed time and way, or will you take self-centered shortcuts to success?

The Temptation of Joseph in Genesis 39

Leaving Genesis 3, let’s fast forward to Genesis 39. Although his envious brothers had sold him into slavery, Joseph had a close walk with the Lord. “The LORD was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2) and “caused all that [Joseph] did to succeed” (Genesis 39:3). Because the Lord’s gracious hand was upon Joseph to prosper him, “Joseph found favor” (Genesis 39:4) in the sight of his master “Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard” (Genesis 39:1). Therefore, Potiphar appointed Joseph as the “overseer of his house and put [Joseph] in charge of all that he had” (Genesis 39:4). Potiphar’s household prospered under Joseph’s administrative oversight.

There was only one problem: Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph and attempted to seduce him. She kept begging him, “Lie with me” (Genesis 39:7, 12). She had a craving in her soul that was not satisfied, and she imagined a future in which she was with Joseph and satisfied by him. She herself had been tempted by the promise of a better future with Joseph, and since she had totally surrendered to that temptation, she became the tempter to Joseph. When she told Joseph, “Lie with me,” she was inviting him into the better future that she imagined.

The Book of Proverbs powerfully illustrates the bait-and-switch nature of sexual temptation. It vividly depicts an adulteress, whose husband has gone away on a journey, seeking to lure a senseless man into an affair (Proverbs 7:5-21). She makes her house lovely and fills it with pleasant aromas (Proverbs 7:16-17). “[With] her smooth talk she compels [the foolish man]” (Proverbs 7:21) into her house so that they can “take [their] fill of love” (Proverbs 7:18).

The adulteress’s well-adorned house on the main floor looks and smells and feels lovely. But if you were to open the door to the basement and have a look at what lies beneath, you would see a mass grave full of the dead bodies of sexually immoral people who had been brought to ruin in her house (Proverbs 7:26-27).

How many people, both men and women, get taken in by the promise of an immediate, short-lasting, pleasurable moment, and thereby sacrifice their capacity to enjoy the better future of God’s good and perfect will? Every kind of sexual immorality, including adultery, premarital sex, and pornography, is choosing a darker future without God instead of a brighter one with Him.

But Joseph, full of wisdom and good sense, maintained his integrity and fled temptation. Joseph knew that it is never a wise move to act outside of God’s design. He said to Potiphar’s wife: “[My master has not] kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9)

After a dramatic encounter in which Joseph literally fled from her temptation, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of making an unwanted advance toward her, and that got Joseph thrown into prison. But who was living the better future? Potiphar’s wife had to live with the guilt of having had a heart and mind that was unfaithful to her husband, as well as the guilt of having lied about Joseph. As a result of her lie, her household was robbed of its very capable administrator, and an innocent man was now in prison. On the other hand, Joseph – although his outward circumstances were difficult – had the blessing of a clear conscience and of fellowship with the Lord: “But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” (Genesis 39:21) The adulteress’s future continued to unfold under the wrath of God, whereas Joseph’s future continued to unfold under the grace of God. Which future are you leaning into?

The Temptation of David in 1 Samuel 24-26

David had a bright future. He knew that a promotion was coming, because the prophet Samuel had anointed him as the future king (1 Samuel 16). But God’s plan was not to immediately exalt David to the throne. Instead, David had to trust God through a season of suffering before he would be entrusted with the kingship.

Many of us would be tempted to short-circuit the season of suffering and fast-track ourselves to the promotion. In fact, we can be tempted to do this in order to secure a promotion that doesn’t even rightfully belong to us. In David’s case, however, the promotion did rightfully belong to him – not because he was great or deserving, but because God had graciously chosen him for it. So the kingship rightfully belonged to him in the form of a promise, but would he wait patiently for God to fulfill God’s promise in God’s time and in God’s way? This is always the question, isn’t it? Will we wait patiently on the Lord to make good on His promise in His time and in His way? Or will we rush ahead and manage the future on our own?

David had the opportunity to rush ahead, but he didn’t. Let me describe the situation. Saul had received the Lord’s anointing in order to become Israel’s first king. But Saul rebelled against the Lord, and therefore the Lord “rejected [him] from being king” (1 Samuel 15:23). The Lord’s rejection of Saul was put into effect as a process: the Lord removed His Spirit and His blessing from Saul, and Saul continued on a path of disobedience that ultimately led to his death. Even though Saul didn’t have the Lord’s blessing anymore, Saul was still the rightful king. David did have the Lord’s blessing, and he was assured of being the future king, but he was not yet king in the present. As things unfolded, the future king David suffered greatly under the anger, envy, and psychotic madness of king Saul. So why not take Saul out? David’s men thought that taking Saul out was a great idea, but David didn’t.

On at least two occasions David had the opportunity to kill Saul while Saul was sleeping (1 Samuel 24:1-7, 26:1-12), but he wouldn’t do it. Abishai, one of David’s men, requested David’s permission to strike down Saul with a “stroke of the spear” (1 Samuel 26:8), but David refused to grant it. Notice what David said: “As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed.” (1 Samuel 26:10-11) David knew that it wasn’t his place to take out the king that the Lord had put on the throne. David knew that vengeance belongs to the Lord – and that it would happen in the Lord’s way, and in the Lord’s time. David knew that his vindication was not be a self-vindication but a vindication from the Lord. David knew that he was not called to be a self-made man or a self-made king. David knew that his job was to wait patiently on the Lord. So David leaned into the future by entrusting his future to the Lord. David testified in one of the psalms,

“I waited patiently for the LORD;  

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.” (Psalm 40:1-3)

Are You Waiting Patiently?

Right now, perhaps, you have some longing in your heart. And while your longing could be misguided, let’s assume the best – let’s assume that it is a good and wholesome longing. It could be a longing to complete a project or a course of study, to make better use of your gifts in leading or helping others, to find a job that better taps into your abilities or more adequately provides for your family, to experience strengthening and more gladness in your marriage and family life, to receive some provision or healing for a pressing need, or simply to have an improved set of circumstances that would make life work better. There are a number of questions to consider, but this morning’s question is: will you wait patiently for the Lord to come through for you?

If you’ve seen the movie Fireproof, then you may recall a song that beautifully captures the truth that we are speaking about. It begins:

“I’m waiting

I’m waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I’m waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

While I’m waiting

I will serve You

While I’m waiting

I will worship

While I’m waiting

I will not faint

I’ll be running the race

Even while I wait”[3]

You’re seeking to remain faithful on the path of obedience and you’re waiting for something. What are you waiting for? You’re waiting for God to make His move. Are you waiting patiently for Him?

Throughout holy Scripture and among people that we ourselves know, we see many examples of people who, when faced with temptation, fell into it and walked away from the Lord. Don’t follow their example! On the other hand, we also see many examples of faithful men and faithful women trusting God in the face of temptation. They stood firm, passed the test, and grew in grace. Sometimes, of course, the same person trips and falls down in one scene, only to show courage and good faith in another scene. In fact, we may recognize that person in the mirror.

THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS IN THE WILDERNESS

There is one Man, however – the God-Man Jesus Christ – who always abided in the Father’s love, always trusted the Father’s promise, and always obeyed the Father’s Word. We can learn much from how Jesus stayed faithful when the tempter sought to throw Him off-balance. Here again, we will see that it is the nature of temptation to promise us a better future. Let’s pick things up in Matthew 3:16.

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16-18)

At His baptism, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and assured of the Father’s love. We would call this a ‘mountaintop experience’ – although it was an experience with staying power. The Father was with His Son by means of His Spirit, empowering and strengthening Him for His earthly ministry. The Father was with His Son and for His Son, openly declaring His delight in His well-pleasing Son. What follows? Wilderness, suffering, temptation.

The First Temptation

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”” (Matthew 4:1-3)

In this first temptation, Satan invited the hungry Jesus into a future full of delicious bread. Your way, right away. This temptation played on Jesus’ identity. Satan was saying: Since you are God’s Son, take advantage of your high position, perform a miracle, and satisfy that ache in your belly. Satan wanted Jesus’ eyes to shift from His Father in heaven to His pressing needs on earth.

Do you recall how Jesus taught us to approach our needs? By “[seeking] first the kingdom of God” and trusting God to supply our needs (Matthew 6:25-34). By praying “[Hallowed] be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:9-11) That is what He taught us, and that is how He lived.

“But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”” (Matthew 4:4)

How do you face temptation in this wilderness world? By trusting the Father’s “every word” and every promise, and not making a mad dash for the quick fix. Jesus trusted His Father to take care of Him, and His next meal would be provided at just the right time.

The Second Temptation

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”” (Matthew 4:5-6)

In this second temptation, Satan invited Jesus to write His own script, to call His own play – specifically, to stage a spectacular scene that would involve a lot of adrenaline and attract a lot of attention. In this temptation Satan even quoted the promises of Scripture. But God’s promise of protection is for those who are walking on the path of obedience, not for those who go off-script. Jesus didn’t come to be the director and star performer of His own show. And He wouldn’t seek to demonstrate His Sonship by staging dramatic scenes that would force His Father’s hand. To be a faithful man or woman means to be humbly led by the Father’s hand, and not to put the Father’s faithful hand to a test:

“Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”” (Matthew 4:7)    

How do you face temptation in this ordinary world? Not by expecting God to ‘sign on’ to your wonderful plan, not by craving the spectacular, and not by manufacturing foolish situations that then require God to intervene with a miracle. Jesus knew that the Father was with Him (Matthew 3:16), Jesus knew that the Father loved Him (Matthew 3:17), Jesus knew that the Father’s Word was sufficient to sustain Him (Matthew 4:4), therefore Jesus felt no desire to turn either to the right or to the left. Neither should you. Walk in humble obedience, and leave the results to God.

The Third Temptation

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”” (Matthew 4:8-10)

In this third temptation, Satan invited Jesus into a future in which Jesus is king over every kingdom on earth. Here, the your way, right away message is very apparent to anyone who knows the rest of The Gospel of Matthew. Just as David had been anointed the future king but had to wait for the kingship to be entrusted to Him, so Jesus was the ultimate future king – not only of Israel, but of all the world. And just as David had to go through a season of suffering before he could claim the crown, so Jesus had to suffer on His way to glory. The Gospel of Matthew concludes with Jesus saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me.” (Matthew 28:18)

In the third temptation, Satan is offering Jesus the shortcut of an easier path. Satan, in a limited but real sense functions as the prince over this present sinful world (2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2, 1 John 5:19), and so he really does have the ability to give “the kingdoms of the world and their glory” to whomever he chooses – always subject to God’s overarching plan. So Satan offers Jesus a pathway to the crown that involves no suffering, no hardship, no cross, no atonement for sinners, no broken body and no shed blood. The only thing Jesus had to do to get a straight, suffering-free path to glory is sell his soul the devil – and that, of course, is one thing that He wouldn’t do. He didn’t come to do His own will, but the Father’s will. He didn’t come to save Himself from suffering, but rather to save us from sin – and the only way to do that was to offer Himself as a sacrificial lamb – pure, spotless, and obedient unto death. Jesus knew that He was destined by God to receive kingly authority over heaven and earth, but He would receive it in God’s way (through death), and on God’s time (only after the suffering of the cross).

Our Lord Jesus died and rose again so that we could be reconciled to a trustworthy heavenly Father who promises us a better future! But how many people, in an effort to make their life a little more comfortable, or a little more exciting, or a little more glorious, take the devil’s bait and eat the lie? And then what do they get? They get fellowship with the devil, and a soul full of darkness, and no way of escape. How much better to follow the way of Jesus: He still had hunger pangs in His belly, He still was alone in an unexciting wilderness, and He still had three difficult years of ministry ahead, but He got to endure all of that as the beloved Son of the trustworthy Father. And this attentive and caring Father dispatched angels to His Son’s side:

“Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” (Matthew 4:11)

SUFFERING ON THE WAY TO GLORY

Jesus’ third temptation speaks so powerfully to us and really captures the heartbeat of this entire sermon. For those who trust Jesus, what has God promised us? Everything!

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)

“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

“… there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8)

And best of all:

“… we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

These are some of the eternal, long-term future realities that God has promised to His people. The voice of temptation always promises a different future – a very dark future – without God. But we have to wait patiently for God to bring us into the future that He has planned for us: “Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.” (Psalm 37:34)

Like David – and like our Lord – our heavenly Father has ordained that we endure suffering on the pathway to glory: “[We] are… heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17). We can be tempted to despise suffering and lowliness and weakness, and seek to minimize it, but we need to adopt Paul’s assessment of things: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18) And “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

However, God’s promises are not limited to the eternal, long-term future that awaits us in the new heaven and the new earth. God has also promised wonderful things to us now – promises that apply to us five minutes from now, five days from now, five years from now:

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

“For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity” (Proverbs 2:6-7).

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

These are promises for today! These are promises for the day-to-day unfolding of your future tomorrows: strong support, true wisdom, peace and rest deep in the soul, the fruit of answered prayer, and all-sufficient grace carrying you. Are you leaning into these promises? Are are you attempting to manage life on your own? Managing life on your own is the temptation: your way, right away.

Like Eve, we are tempted to seek greatness our way, right away. Like Abraham, we are tempted to advance God’s plan with our own fleshly wisdom. Like Jacob, we are tempted to steal someone else’s blessing instead of seeking true blessing from God Himself. Like Joseph, we are tempted to experience “the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) outside the bond of marriage. Like David, we are tempted to grab the promotion before the appointed time. Like Jesus, we are tempted to go for the quick fix, for the dramatic fling, or for the easiest route to glory.

How about you? Where are you at? What is the issue presently causing your angst, your lack of ease, your impatience? If you can identify that issue, then you need to realize that it is at that very point where this sermon will be tested in your life. It is there in your weakness, discomfort, and anxiety that temptation will lift up its voice, packaged in such a reasonable form, and offer you an apparently better, easier, stronger, and more satisfying next couple of hours, or next couple of days, or next couple of years. And before you know it, you’ve wasted your entire life on a lie!

On the other hand, it is also there in your weakness, discomfort, and anxiety that the living God lifts up His voice, and makes promises that are suitable to your needs, and offers to be with you and uphold you through the valleys of this present life. “In all your ways acknowledge him [the LORD], and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6) “[Pour] yourself out” (Isaiah 58:10; see also Isaiah 58:6-7) in service to other people for Jesus’ sake, and “your light [shall] break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8) Don’t you want a straight path ahead of you and a strong protection behind you? Welcome to the Christian life! This really is the life that God intends for us, but remember this:

There must be humility before God’s kingdom breaks into our lives. (Matthew 5:3)

There must be emptiness, and hunger, before God fills us up. (Matthew 5:6)

There must be weakness before God’s strength graciously shows up. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Meekness first, and the inheritance later. (Matthew 5:5)

Taking up our cross now, and afterward receiving the crown. (Matthew 16:24-27, Philippians 3:10-14)

Suffering for a little while, and then glory forever. (Romans 8:16-39, esp. v. 17)

Always waiting patiently for God to move.

Whatever you’re dealing with, at the point of your temptation say ‘No’ to it, because you’d rather have God’s kingdom, God’s supply, God’s nourishment – in the time and manner of His choosing. Say ‘No’ to temptation because you really aren’t interested in the wide and easy path that leads to ruin, for you’d much rather stay on the narrow and difficult path that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). You’d much rather be imprisoned like Joseph, Daniel, Silas, and Paul – and have the Lord with you in the midst of your suffering, than to be like Pharaoh, Belshazzar, Pilate, Herod, and the rich man – and be alienated from the Lord in the midst of your prosperity.

Those who seek to exalt themselves in a your way, right way kind of way, will be humiliated and come to ruin.

But there is grace for the humble:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares of you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7) 

In God’s way, and in God’s time.

ENDNOTES

[1] For a list of these and other Burger King marketing slogans, see “List of Burger King ad programs” on Wikipedia. Available online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Burger_King_ad_programs.

[2] C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory.”

[3] John Waller, “While I’m Waiting.”