All my life I have struggled with allowing temptation to get ahold of me, to make mistakes, to create regrets. The most recent match I’ve had with temptation has truly shown and taught me so much about the grace of God, and I’d like to share that.
So, recently I started a Bible study called “The Armor Of God” by Priscilla Shier, and the entire study is to teach us how to be aware of the Devil’s schemes and when he’s coming with an attack to strike us down with our own weaknesses. (10/10 recommend y’all) Anyways, I prayed, and I prayed, and I PRAYED for God to give me the eyes to see the Devil coming, for the knowledge to know how to handle it, and for the strength to stand firm when temptation and I meet face-to-face again.
And it wasn’t long before I was in the ring with temptation, and I fell… hard.
The disappointment and the embarrassment that I felt in myself, that I felt for my family, my friends, my church, my team… it was all too overwhelming. I mean, I didn’t even eat or sleep for a good number of days before I finally quit crying and feeling sorry for myself. Almost immediately, I owned up to what I did. I knew what I did was wrong and I knew that I had upset a lot of people, but it isn’t something I could just run away from.
It wasn’t until AFTER I owned my mistake that I began to feel such relief and peace. People were calling me, texting me, messaging me, and even sending me letters letting me know that I am still loved by them, that I am still loved by the Father, and that mistakes are apart of everyone. These things I knew and had heard before, but this time was so much different. This time was so much sweeter. This time I had leaned on God for grace, not myself, not others, but on God!!!
I’m not going to lie and say that I’m innocent, because Lord knows I’m not, and I’m also not going to lie and say that I don’t wish I weren’t in this situation. However, without this mistake, I may have NEVER experienced the true grace of God, not only through Him, but through others.
Going through this situation has vividly shown me that God’s grace, same with His love, trumps ALL EVIL!!! And temptation is EVIL; it is the Devil in disguise!! I also know that He will use my mistake in order to help me learn from it and help others learn from it as well! God is so good y’all…
