Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Psalm 23:4, Matthew 6:13

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Psalm 23 is a beautiful psalm about how Jesus, our Lord and good shepherd leads us his sheep through this life. But have you ever wondered when you get to that phrase in Psalm 23?

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; (Psalm 23:4)

As the sheep, do you ever wonder, do we have to go through this valley? Can’t we just go around it? Well, that’s an important thought as we deal with the next petition in the Lord’s Prayer.

Lead us not into temptation. (Matthew 6:13)

What this is saying is that God does not lead us into temptation, but he leads us through temptation. He leads us through those dark valleys of difficulty.

And you see, there’s an important distinction here between God knowing that we’ll face temptation and God causing that temptation. For instance, think about Judas the night that He betrayed Jesus. Jesus turned to Judas and said, What you are about to do, go and do quickly. Was Jesus leading Judas into temptation? No. The Bible tells us that God surely tempts no one to sin. Judas was drug away by his own lust for money. If you know this story, what happens after that, when Judas found out that Jesus had been sentenced to death. In despair, He runs back to the temple, he takes the 30 pieces of silver he had been paid for Jesus life, and he throws it at the chief priest and he says, I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed innocent blood. And do you know what they told him? They said, What is that to us? You take care of it.

You see, that was Judas’ real temptation. He was told that he could take care of his own sin. And in the dark cloud of despair he thought that there was nothing he could do to pay for what he had done except to take his own life. And the greatest tragedy of Judas’ story is that as Judas hung on his tree, the answer he was so desperately seeking was hanging on a tree on Calvary.

There is a difference between God knowing we’ll face certain temptation, God causing that temptation, and though God doesn’t cause temptation because God knows we’re going to face temptation in his power and for his saints, God chooses to take that temptation and ultimately work it for our good.

At the same time, Judas faced his hour, his dark hour of trial and temptation, Peter faced a very similar one. Jesus had warned Peter that he too would deny Christ. Peter said, No, I won’t, and you might know what happens next. After Jesus was arrested, Peter had his chance to stand up for Christ. And instead he denied him, rejected him and renounced Jesus over and over again. What was Peter’s real temptation? He wasn’t just whether or not he would own up to being a disciple of Christ, but his real temptation came after the fact. How would he view himself after he had fallen into such a sad sin? Would he believe himself to be in such a dark place that God would never take him back?

Thankfully, Peter was led safely through that hour, that dark hour of temptation. He simply held on to Jesus and believed in Jesus and trusted Jesus’ words of promise. And he was brought safely through. You and I, as Christians, we have our dark hours as well. We face that dark shadow of death. Christians fall into deep pits. And oftentimes, again, the real temptation is how do I see myself in light of this sin?

So often there is that terrible voice in our head that says there’s no coming back. That how could God ever want me back? Or we can be sitting in church and hearing all these good things and thinking to ourselves that these good things apply to everyone else in the room, but not me. I’m the one that doesn’t belong here. That voice is a terrible lie. Take it from Paul, who was the chief of sinners, and God saved him and rescued him and forgave him. Take it from Peter who fell and Jesus personally restored. You and I were led safely through that dark trial. Those dark temptations. By that simple trust in Jesus promises.

Take John 3:16. God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son. We can ask ourselves, Am I a part of the world? Yes. Then God loves you. You can ask yourself, who did Jesus die for? He died for sinners. Are you a sinner? The answer is yes. Jesus died for you. That means Jesus is your Savior. He has taken away your sins. And that faith in Jesus will see you through that dark time.

More importantly, it’s your Savior’s promise that no matter how dark of a cloud, no matter how dark of a valley we find ourselves in, it’s his promise that he will stay by your side. He will lead you safely through.

I will fear no evil for your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

That’s a comfort we have when we pray. That petition lead us not into temptation, but through temptation. Amen.