Birds and nests

Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him. If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, ‘This temptation comes from God’. For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires.  (verses 12-14)

Read James 1:1-15

Martin Luther once said, ‘We cannot stop the birds from flying over our heads. But we can stop them from building nests in our hair.’ When he said this he meant that we can’t stop temptations from coming our way, but we don’t have to give into them as if we have no power against them.

Sometimes you might think that you have no power to fight the temptations you face in your life. It might even seem that God is sending the temptations, and that you can’t stand up against God’s strength. But God doesn’t tempt a you. In fact, it is God alone who gives you the strength to resist giving into temptation.

God loves you, and has good things in store for you. Look to him, and he will reward you with his life.

Lord, I need you to help me stand up against the temptations that I face. Give me your Holy Spirit, so that I may always trust you. Amen.

By Fraser Pearce, in “God’s Promises for each day” (LCA, Openbook Publishers (1999)

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