12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” Since God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

14 Each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires.

15 And when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.  

16 Do not be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.

It is clear that “trials” in this passage is not in reference to hardships and adversity, but temptation. “…an enticement to sin, temptation, whether arising from desires or outward circumstances.”[1]

We are all tempted to sin every day of our lives. Sometimes the temptation is resistible, sometimes it’s not. We all have our buttons that Satan knows how to push and, on our own, we are helpless to fight. But God will give us what we need to resist, if only we surrender to Him. The price we pay when sin takes over is dear.

 This makes me think of those who are overcome by addiction. They weren’t born with the addiction, but they are drawn and enticed by evil itself. They taste and their desires are stirred. Then they embrace that evil for its euphoric pleasure. Then desire grows and it wants more. They continue to feed the desire in their souls and, for some, this sin leads to death.

God has nothing to do with this. He does not tempt or entice us to sin, but will strengthen our resolve to resist if we cry out to Him. We must surrender to Him, not the sin. The Holy Spirit will prompt us when temptation to sin is before us. The trouble comes when we resist the wrong one.

Sometimes we struggle to see that we are being tempted. Satan is crafty. But the closer we grow in our walk with God, the clearer it is that we are being tempted and the more resistance we will have through God’s powerful Holy Spirit. It’s not easy. That’s why we need God.

This is not to say growing closer to God will eliminate sin from our life entirely. As James wrote in chapter 3, “For we all stumble in many ways.” We will sin and fall short of God’s glory. But God is merciful. “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

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[1] Thayers Greek Lexicon, via Blue Letter Bible