William James, the famous American educator, said, “No man has graduated from the school of life until he has been well tempted.” Temptation is one of the common denominators of every life, so let's look at it more closely.
What is temptation? It is an enticement to do evil. Evangelist Billy Sunday said, “Temptation is the devil peeking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in.” There is no sin in being tempted. The sin comes in yielding.
Where does temptation come from? Some try to justify their sin by saying, “God made me this way.” We can never blame God for our sin. We can only blame ourselves. Sin originates from depraved human nature. It comes from our own lusts and desires and thoughts. Lust begins in our mind. We nurture and feed it until it grows into an action. Then sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death. Temptation is like a fisherman’s artificial bait—he throws it out before the fish and lures it. By the time the fish realizes what has happened, it is hooked.
How can we overcome temptation? If sin grows out of our desires and appetite, then the solution is to have a new nature. Through the word of God, a person can be born again. He can have a new nature. It is God’s will that we should be examples of what he can do to redeem the sinful nature and desires of men and women.
God has promised us victory over temptation in the Bible. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
No one need feel helpless. God has promised to help us and will not fail us.