1Sam. 16:14 - occupy ourselves with godliness

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by Jimmy Lau

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. 

 When Saul walked with God, the Spirit of God came upon him (1 Samuel 10:6). But now that Saul has disobeyed the commandments of God, he is no longer walking in the Spirit of God. What happened to him? An evil spirit “from” God replaces it. This really means that God allowed the evil spirit to tempt Saul to sin. We see it in the case of Job. It was not God who tempted Job. But God allowed Satan to tempt him.

 Although God will allow you to be tempted, He’s not doing the tempting. James 1:13 (NKJV) says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”
 
God allows temptation to come in order to strengthen our characters, but He doesn’t send it: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14).
 
We are tempted by the evil things we want; our own desires lead us away and trap us. The man who already has a lust for women will fall for it. For example: if Joseph had already a lust for his master’s wife, do you think he would run away when the seductress tempted him with her body? Of course not! He would fall for it.

 Unfortunately, many will not open the door for Jesus. The result is the devil will take its place: “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there” (Matthew 12:43-45).
 
The unclean spirit was cast out from the man. He returned when he found it empty. Likewise, our sins have been washed away. We need to occupy ourselves with godliness or the idle mind will allow the devil to take over our lives again: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
 
a Christian, writer and homemaker

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