Strength 2026
Strength to Overcome Temptation
Sunday, January 25, 2026
1 Corinthians 10:13-14 (AMP) 13No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy]. 14Therefore, my beloved, run [keep far, far away] from [any sort of] idolatry [and that includes loving anything more than God, or participating in anything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul].
Temptations can take many forms. Most people think of lust, pornography, or idolatry—but what about anger (true anger, not righteous anger), unforgiveness, cursing/cussing, gossip, or over-eating? These are all temptations, and each of us faces different ones.
Discussion Point #1: What do you do when you are tempted? Can you tell when you are being tempted or has your spirit become dulled because you’ve been tolerating or repeating certain behaviors too long? How can the scripture above guide your response when temptation comes?
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples from the Bible where two men were both tempted in similar ways—Joseph and David.
Genesis 39:19-23 (AMP) 19And when Joseph’s master heard the words of his wife, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger burned. 20So Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison. 21But the Lord was with Joseph and extended lovingkindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the warden. 22The warden committed to Joseph’s care (management) all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was [a]in charge of it. 23The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him; whatever Joseph did, the Lord made to prosper.
What did Joseph do when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife? He resisted!
2 Samuel 11:3 (AMP) 3David sent word and inquired about the woman. Someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
David was warned Bathsheba was married.
2 Samuel 11:15 (AMP) 15He wrote in the letter, “Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and leave him, so that he may be struck down and die.”
He had Uriah killed.
2 Samuel 11:27 (AMP) 27And when the time of mourning was past, David sent word and had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done [with Bathsheba] was evil in the sight of the Lord.
David took Bathsheba as his wife.
2 Samuel 12:10, 14 (AMP) 10Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have given [a great] opportunity to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme [Him], the son that is born to you shall certainly die.
What did David do when tempted by Bathsheba? He sinned.
Joseph ran and was protected. David gave in, and there were consequences. Two men of God presented with temptation, two different choices—one led to blessing, the other to judgment. The way we respond to temptation can change the course of our lives for better or for worse.
Discussion Point #2: When temptation comes, what does “the way out” usually look like for you? Why can it sometimes be difficult to recognize or take it?
Hebrews 2:18 (ESV) 18For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
James 4:7 (ESV) 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
God always provides a way out of temptation. We have victory to resist temptation. We have HIS strength to flee.
Discussion Point #3: Where in your life do you need God’s help to resist temptation? How can you prepare now to respond like Joseph and not David?