Blog
What is your greatest weakness?
This is a typical interview question I would ask my former students as they prepared for their medical school admission’s interviews.
We all have weaknesses, areas where we struggle. Something that may not seem like a big deal to someone else, but to us, it’s challenging.
The follow-up question was ”and how have you overcome that weakness” or ”what ways are you trying to improve in that weak area?”
Because ultimately, if we know we all have weaknesses, that’s not the issue. The issue is what are you doing about it? When you are faced with that temptation, how do you overcome?
The focus isn’t on the war itself, but how you fight the battle.
We’ve been studying about prayer as we walk through Luke 11 where Jesus answers the request from the disciples to teach them to pray. Through our study so far, we’ve seen who we address our prayers to and recognize Him as God, our Father. We also acknowledged where He is, in Heaven and His holiness. Then we pointed out His authority as Lord and our submission to His will. He is our provider, the source of everything we need each day. And because of His beautiful offer of forgiveness, we can be restored to Him and we can offer that same restoration to others whom we have wronged or have wronged us.
Today, we read about temptation.
Luke 11:4b
“And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
Everything we’ve covered so far has mainly focused on God. But in this part of the prayer, we see our personal needs enter the picture.
We read “lead us not into temptation”, but what does that really mean?
Think of it this way – God knows where you struggle. You are asking Him to keep you from those weak areas. Why? Because we don’t want to fail. We want to live peacefully, without worry, issues or stumbles. So this is just saying, “Lord, keep troubles away from me and keep me from those troubles.”
But we know that’s not exactly how life goes, right? There are always ups and downs. Challenges in our life are what help us grow, mature, and succeed. If life was smooth sailing all the time, what would our character be like?
The focus isn’t on the war itself, but how you fight the battle.
Think about who you are now and the obstacles you’ve had to overcome. You might even say, “I’m the person I am today because of those things.” Maybe those challenges made you stronger, wiser, or gave you an experience to share with others.
That’s where the second part of this verse is necessary. Because it’s silly to think we will never have troubles and temptations in this life. So, Jesus says we’re to ask God to spare us or lead us away from temptations, but when they do come, be with us. Help us to overcome them. Because we know we aren’t strong enough on our own.
Where do you turn when the troubles of this life come your way? Do you try to rely on your own strength or do you turn to the Lord?
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Not on my own but through Christ who gives me the strength I need to withstand the temptation and overcome the situation.
Deliver us from evil. Be our protector Lord. Strengthen us within the trials as they come. Use them to grow us and make us more like you. Allow us to share what we learn with others who face the same struggles. Let us point them to you. Amen.
Copyright © 2023 by Yalanda Merrell Lifeword.org. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org