By the Rev. Ed Ganus

In Matthew 26:41, Jesus told His disciples, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” In I Corinthians 10:13, Paul stated, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:…” These verses remind us that temptation is something we must deal with.

In John 16:33, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:…” He leaves no doubt about it, we will have to deal with tribulation in this world.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that when we face temptation or tribulation of any kind we can have victory?

We can, because Jesus has already won the battle.

Jesus fought and won in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He submitted to the Father’s perfect will and chose to die on Calvary’s cross.

He prayed there as written in Matthew 26:42, “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

This shows his complete surrender to the cross. His crucifixion and resurrection sealed His promises to his disciples including you and me.

In John 16:33, when Jesus said,”… In me ye might have peace,” then in the last part of that verse He stated,”… But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Here Jesus tells us to take courage; even death would not hold Him, and sin could not defeat Him. When Jesus said, “In me,” He gives us the way to have the victory over temptation and tribulation, it is because of our relationship with Him and He brings the victory to us as we surrender to His will.

In John 14:20, Jesus said, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”

Therefore for the person who receives the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal saviour, Jesus lives within their lives in the Holy Spirit and continually wins the battles with temptation and with tribulation.

Jesus raced the greatest battle and won and now we do not have to suffer in loneliness and heartache for He will never leave or forsake us as we are told in Hebrews 13:5.

We can conclude this matter with Jesus own statement in John 14:11, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”