1 Corinthians 10:12-13 says, “12Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

One of my favorite things to do during the summer months is wade fishing. I thoroughly enjoy the memories of going with my dad and wading the creek. The last time we went fishing together, we actually caught 132 combined! It was absolutely a blast, and he is responsible for teaching me how to really catch fish. 

If you go to a river or lake, oftentimes you will spend a majority of the time casting or trolling down the waters. When you wade the creek, you have the opportunity to actually do what my dad calls “jigging”. It is when you are standing upon a rock, and you put the bait at the entryway of a rock in the water. It is best to go with the current so the water can push the bait in between the rock and the next rock or surface, influencing the fish to leave its place of security in the rock and go after the bait. It makes for a very enjoyable time and event!

Spiritually, this is the devil’s method of fishing. He does not use a net, but bait, and he comes in a very sneaky and careful way. When we go fishing, it is not like we run up the creek or else we scare the fish. We take our time and ease our way through it in hopes of having an easier time catching fish. In the same sense, the enemy enters deceptively into our arena, almost unnoticed until we go after the bait. Behind bait is a hook, and while the hook is not enticing, the bait is. We must be at the place spiritually to where temptation no longer entices us but that we remain in the Rock, who is none other than Jesus Christ! 

With temptation, God will always make a way of escape. We all face temptation, and temptation itself is not a sin. If Jesus was tempted and did not sin, then surely we can follow His example and choose the way of escape, which is declaring and walking in obedience to the Word of God. We must not go after and cling to the bait of entertainment, but we must use the spiritual tuition to know and discern where the decision we make can lead us. The best thing you can do is quite simple:  stay in the Rock!