God's Leading Me Where?!?

Have you ever asked God for direction? Have you asked Him to lead you in the right path, to make the right decisions? Most of us have, be it direction for a job, school, church to attend, place we should live, even who we should marry. We are encouraged to ask, to pray for direction even to follow David's example in Psalm 25:4, "Make me know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths." It seems reasonable that we would want to be on the right path. Asking the Lord to keep us on the right path is a pretty common request. However, have you ever thought about asking God to not lead you? In this series of posts we have been considering the instructions Rabbi Jesus gave to His disciples. The phrase we consider today is an unusual request. The disciples are instructed to ask God, their Father in heaven to not do something.

The phrase is, "And do not lead us into temptation" (Matthew 6:13a). Why do we specificity need to ask God to NOT lead us into temptation. Why would God lead us there? I thought James wrote that this couldn't happen? James 1:13 says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." If God does not tempt anyone, then why are we instructed to ask Him to not lead us there? Perhaps a look at the Greek words will shed some light on this apparent dilemma. The Greek word translated "lead" is eispherō, It means to lead or to bring in. It appears only seven times in the New Testament. Here in Matthew 6, and in Luke 11, the other version of the Lord's Prayer, where it is translated lead. The other five instances the word is translated "brought" as in Luke 5 where they "brought" the paralyzed man to Jesus. Either way Matthew's record of this prayer is that God would not lead or bring us into temptation.

The real help comes from understanding the word translated "temptation". This is the Greek word, peirasmos. It does indeed mean temptation; however, it is also commonly translated test or trial. A test or trial may be a positive thing or a negative thing. It depends on where it comes from and how we respond. Satan brings temptations to wound us and to draw us into sin. We are not exempt from these things. Messiah had this experience. Luke 4:13 records the encounter between the Lord and the devil in the wilderness, "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time." This temptation was meant to harm. Peter gives us another perspective. 1 Peter 1:6, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials." We rejoice in spite of the trials that come upon us. James takes it a step further telling us, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials" (James 1:2). It is through trials or temptations that we grow in patience and strength in the Lord. Peter tells us that these trials are to be expected. "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you" (1 Peter 4:12). Trials are God's way of bringing us to maturity. Resistance will build our "faith muscles". It is through these kinds of temptations that we gain strength as we trust and depend upon the Lord.

We cannot void these faith building experiences. They are God-designed to help us grow in faithfulness and patience as well as having the experience to help others as they travel down their path with the Lord. Our experience can help them in their spiritual journey. This is the positive aspect of those trials and temptations. Yet, we all know that we have weaknesses that can tempt us to stumble. Those temptations can lead us into wrong thinking, wrong decisions and sin. James made that clear. It is, therefore, wise to ask the Lord to protect us from exposures to those weaknesses, those temptations. Lord as you lead me through this day do not let my path wander into areas where I will fall into destructive temptations. Instead deliver me. Which is what we will look into next week.

Temptations, trials, and tests will come. Count on it. The question is what will you do with it? We want to depend upon the Lord and know success and victory. However, some times the best victory comes from avoiding the battle where we are vulnerable to fail. Asking our Heavenly Father to not lead us toward paths of temptation but to protect us and lead us in the paths of righteousness is a prayer worth praying.