“This too shall pass.” If every place in the Scriptures was given here that these words appear, well, it would take quite some time. Suffice it to say that our Lord repeats them enough to let us know a simple truth, what is occurring at this time will not always be present, here is where we learn the truth of Luke 21:19 “In your patience possess ye your souls.” If your job loss is imminent, it will pass, and the truth that the Lord never closes one door on any of His devoted children without having another one open first will be known, if you are sick, or if a loved one is ill, this too shall pass, whether you are healed or taken home to finally be with Christ, this too will pass.
Beyond our prayers, which in every case concerning these moments, should end with, “Not my will, but thy will be done,” we have very little control over the circumstances that surround our lives, we are expected to trust and obey, not worry and fret. There is at least one area in this time and place that we inhabit that we have almost complete control over, and although they also will pass, the temptations that come upon us are our own sole responsibility to deal with.
The verse should be familiar to you, “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 Cor. 10:13) But for many, instead of searching diligently for the way out that has been provided, they will just hope that, well, this too shall pass, they will try to ignore it, divert their eyes, ears, or thoughts upon another area, they will not face it head on, call it what it is, sin, and step through that opening that has been provided. Temptations are things we want, and are always in the context of the Word of God, items that will draw us away from Christ. But oh, they are, well, so tempting, they are strong desires, they are the itch that must be scratched.
How do we know when we have not taken the way out, that we instead of doing all we could to remove ourselves from sinning in this area, of taking that escape route have instead fallen into it? Depression, frustration with ourself, a loathing to even be in our own presence, these are the ways that the Holy Spirit lets us know that repentance is in order, that we would not fulfill our part of the bargain, as it were, that we thought that this too would pass.
My mother, when the vehicle she was driving started to make noises that did not sound beneficial to the vehicle, would simply turn the radio up until the issue made itself known in a more audible or visible way. The problem did not go away, she simply had no desire to address them until it was absolutely necessary, and so as you can guess, the repair cost was much more than it would have been if the reason for the noise was addressed immediately. Such are the temptations that come upon us, when they begin, they have taken us, most generally in our mind, our thoughts first, and they are oh so sneaky, so subtle, so unexpected. What is the very first thing that we are to do when temptations arise? Fight them? Hope they will go away? Ignore them? Seek the face of the Lord? No my friends, we are to rejoice, (James 1:2) the complete opposite of what most Christians will tell you, the total inverse of what the world says, that we should all let go of our inhibitions and set ourselves free from the old fashioned moral construct.
The individual who truly desires to serve Christ, who wants nothing more than to be a profitable servant will rejoice in these moments of temptation, for he has been seen worthy to be given the honor of glorifying the Most High. The momentary lapse of reason will be replaced with the knowledge that this temptation is not going to pass unless he acts upon the promises of God, for those who cannot endure the small temptations, those who attempt to hide from them, will indeed fall to every other one that arrives. Here is another place where the free will that each of us has been given must be brought to bear, you may fall to your knees and ask for help, which of course should be your first response, but then you must act, and the action that began from an external influence must be met with the mind that is held captive to Christ.
These are not a “what would Jesus do” situation, this is a “what are you going to do” moment. What happens of course many more times than we would like to admit is that we fall into the pleasure of the temptation, and then there is only one recourse, repentance. Think of what the Scriptures say to those whose lives are lived in the folly of continuing pleasure, of releasing themselves to the temptations willingly when they arrive. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” (Romans 1:28)
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13) The Scriptures say, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Cor. 9:27) “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5) This is what our response is to be, we are to hate evil, that is how we rejoice when the temptations arrive. They will not pass my friends, they are not just going to fade away with time, it is impossible to ignore them, you know that, pray diligently, stand in those days, and you will find that as the Lord blesses, they will not need to pass, they will be addressed and removed from your life the moment after they arrive.
