If there is one thing we all face, it is temptation. The reason for this is simple—the devil is alive and active and doing all he can to destroy us spiritually. Peter knew this to be true and warned us about it.

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

If you knew there was a prowler breaking into houses in your neighborhood, you would stay alert and take proper precautions. Doing anything less than that would be extremely unwise. In fact, the prowler is counting on someone in the neighborhood not taking the threat seriously. This is what the devil is doing too. He is seeking someone to devour, and the less resistance he gets, the better. Try not to be an easy target for Satan. Keep your guard up and your armor on at all times because the devil does not rest. Fortunately, we know, even before the devil attacks, we can overcome and defeat him. Paul assures of this.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)
¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Are you willing to take the way of escape that God provides for you? A good first step would be to not put yourself in the path of temptation. Solomon spoke of this.

Proverbs 4:14-15 (ESV)
¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. ¹⁵  Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.

If we will live cautiously and avoid putting ourselves in temptation’s path, we can cut down the times that we find ourselves being tempted by the devil. However, escaping temptation all together is impossible. Notice, Paul was not giving us a way to never be tempted; he was telling us that we can escape it when it comes knocking on our door. What the exact way of escape is will depend on the situation that you are in when you are tempted. It might necessitate turning off the TV or shutting down the computer. It might be something from which you simply need to walk away. In many situations, prayer will deliver you from the temptation. In the end, however, it is up to you take the way of escape.

Well, overcoming temptation is never easy, and it can get tiresome. Here is the good news. If we overcome, we will receive a crown of life (James 1:12). Where will we get our crown? In heaven, of course. And, once we get there, temptation will be a thing of the past. What a beautiful place heaven will be. It will be a place where all of the things that tempted us here on earth will be gone. There will be no more struggles against Satan and sin and no more worrying about failing and letting God down. In heaven, we will be in a place where there will be no adversary who is trying to devour us, for by that time, the devil will be in the lake of fire, and we will be free from all temptation.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.