A Lesson from My Cat

by Kathy on 2001-03-19 18:46:59

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the LORD hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12

Every morning I have a ritual. I’m not a morning person, so it takes me a while to really get my eyes open. I stumble into the bathroom and close the door behind me. My cat, Whiskers, stands outside the door and meows, scratches, and sticks her paws under the door until I let her in. After I let her in, I close the door. It isn’t long, however, until she is at the door again begging to be let out! So, I go to the door and open it just a little and she sits there looking at the door. After this happened a few times, I realized that Whiskers wants it both ways. She wants to be in the bathroom with me, but she also wants the option to leave if she so desires…

As humans, we are the same way when it comes to temptation. We want to be free from the thing that tempts us and near God, but we want to keep the option open to return to it, as well. Most everyone suffers from some kind of temptation. Temptations come in all different forms. For some, it may be drugs, alcohol, smoking, pornography and other sexual addictions, etc. For others, it may be gossiping, lying, stealing, cheating, or overeating. Temptation is a very real force in our lives and, if not dealt with, will overtake and overcome us. The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation . . .” The key word here is “endures.” It’s not an easy thing to overcome temptation, but it can be done by retraining your mind and your habits to those that are pleasing to God, realizing that bad habits and temptations will only take you down, not up.

Some temptations may be overcome simply by your will, others may require professional or pastoral Christian counseling, but the first step is for you to admit that you have a problem and decide to take whatever steps are necessary to be an overcomer. It is God’s will for you to be a success and to be healthy in every way. If you are reading this article and know that you need help, I urge you today for the sake of yourself and those you love to seek after God and Christian counsel and be determined that you will be an overcomer. May God give you the courage and the boldness to face whatever is going on in your life so that you may be healed and whole!

Please feel free to comment to this article or you may contact me directly at kredwood65@integrity.com if I may be of assistance to you.

May His peace be yours today,

Kat

Disclaimer: Kathy Redwood is not a secular, professional counselor. The nature and purpose of her ministry is
discipleship, not professional/secular counseling, and she has not been trained in medicine or psychology, nor has she
been trained in any type of secular counseling. Kathy Redwood’s emphasis is in the direction of the Word of God, and
she trains people to search the scriptures (the Bible) for answers to life’s problems. Neither Kathy Redwood nor
welovegod.org nor any of its owners, members, or representatives are responsible for, and cannot be held liable for,
any harm, injury, or loss occurring in the lives of participants of this topic. Kathy Redwood cannot control decisions or
events in participants’ lives or what participants may decide to do in the future.