James 1:13
[13] “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”
James goes from dealing with trials to dealing with temptations. The reason is because often times when trials come into our lives, the Devil sees that as an opportunity to tempt us. The Lord sends trials into our lives to bring the best out of us. Satan brings temptations into our lives to bring the worst out in us. The Lord’s goal is to use trials to help us spiritually, while Satan’s goal is to use temptation to help us to sin.
The best example of this would be the life of Job. The Lord was testing Job, but Satan was trying to tempt Job. God had a plan in the midst of Job’s suffering, and so did Satan. Job had to make the choice as to how he was going to view his adversity. He could focus on the Lord, knowing that God would help him, or he could yield to Satan, and look for a way out by blaming God.
This was what Adam attempted that day in the garden, when he brought up the fact that the woman was given to him by God. While this was true, God was not to blame for Adam’s sinful choice. God did not give Eve to Adam to tempt him to sin. What we say when we sin determines whether or not we find forgiveness for it. We must own our sin and be honest about it. We must be honest with ourselves, and before God.
There are also two great assurances in this verse. The first, is that we serve a God that can never be tempted to sin. He will never fall prey to the Devil! He is holy and cannot sin. The second, is that he would never tempt a man to commit sin. God is not interested in putting us in situations that will cause us to do wrong. He wants to make us stronger, so we can withstand the tempter. He always has our best interest at heart. Rest today in knowing that our God will give us victory over sin and Satan.