Temptation...

"...temptation is powerful and so hard to resist but God is even more powerful!" My son said these words as he wrapped up his Children`s Story yesterday at Church.

He shared a story that was once read to him as a little child. It`s a story about a little girl who was given instructions by her mom not to snack late at night. However, one night, she was quite hungry but it was already way past bedtime and she knew what the rules were. But she pictured the juicy, sweet grapes sitting on top of the dinning table waiting there for her and it was just way too tempting. So she crept down to the dinning room and silently grabbed the grapes that were in a bowl. But all of the sudden, she froze for a few seconds and returned the grapes, uneaten, on the bowl. What this little girl didn't know was that her mom was watching her. When her mom saw that she returned the grapes, she hugged her daughter and said, "you won over temptation tonight". =)

You see, this wasn`t just a random story my son picked. He was adamant to share this story to the other kids at church. And the reason for this he said was that, "I too won over temptation today, Mom". =)

It had been a very tough day for him. His Dad and I finally decided to take his DS and Wii games away especially the ones he was quite addicted to. It was a hard decision for us to make as we both know how much our son enjoys playing these games. We explained to him our reasons and told him that we would keep only sports and educational games but nothing else. He was extremely upset, as you can only imagine. In fact, he was so upset that he requested us to give him time alone.

Listening to him sobbing broke my heart. I finally went to him when he asked if I could hold him. I too couldn't stop my own tears from falling. I`m as guilty or even worse because as his Mom, I allowed this to happen. He got so addicted to these games. He was even more inconsolable when we told him that we would sell these games. He was begging us not to sell them, to just keep them hidden. I told him that there wouldn't be any reason for us to keep it. It will just serve as a temptation for him. He might not see it but knowing that it's around the house... it would be a huge temptation for him. Temptations are so strong and it order to fight it, we have to get rid of it. The entire time he was sobbing, I just kept praying that the Lord would give him the comfort that he needed. I was calling upon the Lord to cast the devil away and his hold on my son!

Later that afternoon, he finally made the decision to go ahead and sell his games. I know for sure that Jesus helped him win the battle over the devil and his hold on him through these games! Praise God!!!

This was why his little children story was so important for him. It wasn't just a story. It was a testimony that he shared with this little girl. They both won over temptation!!! What a testimony and I pray that he doesn't forget how God delivered him that day!

What a lesson we can take from these children! Though their temptations might seem a trifle thing to us "adults", it was equally as powerful as our temptations. And if these precious little children can win over their temptations and break satan's hold on them through Jesus Christ, so can we!