Have you ever felt like you are being pulled in different directions? One minute you are going in a certain direction with courage and conviction, only to find yourself derailed and then going in another direction? And as a result, you never feel like you are going to reach your destination?

This is a very real temptation we all face, and yes, it is nothing more than a temptation. Once you recognise you are dealing with a temptation, you can rationally and logically, deal with it and then keep going in the direction you have chosen.

When it comes to dealing with temptation, the first thing you need to know is that YOU HAVE NOT SINNED! Temptations come to everyone. Even Jesus was tempted, but He did not sin – miss the mark or deviate from His goal. Jesus came to give you abundant life, but Satan is determined to steal it from you and he uses little voices to tempt you to deviate from your desire. Temptation is always designed to lead you astray from all that Jesus has promised you.

Second you need to know that God is not the one that tempts you, Satan is. If Satan can convince you that God is somehow responsible for your troubles, he will lead you into captivity and you will go willingly. Satan’s captivity is simply a pathway, or thought pattern, that leads you away from God. He has no power to lead you astray unless you give your free will to do so, to him. On the other hand, when you willingly yield your thoughts to Jesus, the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth and the abundance of all that He has blessed you with.

James 1:13-16 When you are tempted don’t ever say, “God is tempting me,” for God is incapable of being tempted by evil and He is never the source of temptation. Instead it is each person’s own desires and thoughts that drag them into evil and lure them away into darkness. Evil desires give birth to evil actions. And when sin is full matured it can murder you. So my friends, don’t be fooled by your own desires! (TPT)

Walking in God’s abundance is simple and begins with accepting His ways as being wiser than your own and then becoming single minded about them.

James 1:5-8 And if anyone longs to be wise, let him ask God for wisdom and He will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures, but He will overwhelm your failures with His generous grace. Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you like rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. When you are half-hearted and wavering, it leaves you unstable. Can you really expect to receive from the Lord when you are in that condition? (TPT)

Becoming stable is simply making up your mind about what you want and then staying with that decision. Take time with your decisions. Work through your thoughts and emotions within you. Pray and wait for God’s wisdom to come to you. His wisdom will come in the form of knowledge from the Scripture. When you have direction then begin to engage with the Lord about what He has said to you.