Satan tempts believers, but Scripture also warns that we can tempt ourselves by stepping into situations that stir up the sinful flesh. Dr. Michael Youssef explains why Jesus taught us to pray for deliverance from temptation—and how Samson’s life warns us against presuming on God’s mercy.
If you are a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan and his demons will tempt you. But in today’s episode of the MY Devotional Podcast, Dr. Michael Youssef reminds us that God has given His children power to resist temptation and walk in victory.
The danger is that we often tempt ourselves. We put ourselves in situations where our sinful flesh rises up and begins to crave what is ungodly. When Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” He was teaching us to ask the Father for strength not only against Satan’s attacks, but also against our own tendency to drift toward sin and presume upon God’s grace.
Dr. Youssef also explains what it means to tempt or test God. God cannot be tempted by evil, but we can presume on His mercy by repeatedly placing ourselves in danger and expecting Him to rescue us from the consequences. Samson’s life is a sobering example. Again and again, he used God’s strength to serve his own will—until God allowed him to face the results of his foolishness.
Every blessing from God should make us more humble, not more careless. This devotional calls believers to stay on guard, resist spiritual pride, and surrender every hidden attitude, moral compromise, and selfish desire to the Lord—for His glory and our good.
Join me in prayer.
Father God, lead me not into temptation. Help me never to use Your blessings for my own purposes but to enjoy them as I pour them out in service to You and others. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.