Read 1 Corinthians 10:12–13

If you’re old enough to remember comedian Flip Wilson, then you also remember his famous line, “The Devil made me do it.” It was designed to be funny, not phoney. Whether he believed in an actual Satan is, for the moment, immaterial. All he was interested in was getting a laugh. But the thing that made it so effective was the real-to-life scenario Flip was acting out. It made everybody laugh out loud.

Now...why? It’s obvious...and in light of his hilarious routine, it’s also excusable. We didn’t just laugh at him, we laughed at ourselves—at one of our favourite indoor sports, The Blame Game. And since the adversary is altogether evil and invisible (and therefore unable to challenge our accusation in audible tones) there’s no better scapegoat than the wicked one himself.

But let’s get real. Simply blaming the Devil and not taking responsibility for ourselves doesn’t cut it with Scripture.

Paul wrote,

If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (1 Corinthians 10:12–13)

God’s strategy for overcoming temptation has nothing to do with the Devil. Did you notice? Only you and He are involved. God faithfully places boundaries about the intensity of temptation and then promises to provide you an escape route. You then, in tune with God and His Spirit, watch for the way out...then take it. Now that’s what I call a fail-proof plan.

Leave the Devil out of it. He doesn’t deserve the credit anyway.

Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.