“Lead us not into trials which we have not the grace to bear.”
In the Pattern of Seven, this sixth supplication that Jesus taught His disciples directly relates to the Ruler portion of our human spirit. The Word is clear that Jesus’ great opponent the Adversary, was given permission by the Father to try the Son of God as the Son of man. There was no human match for Jesus. Therefore, how much more did that which He withstood in His humanity, forever secure His power and authority for us through the Holy Spirit?
Jesus passed the testing of His relationship with His heavenly Father. As Satan administered tests of the flesh, the world, and allegiance to his devil self, the Son of man demonstrated He was superior in the areas of physical, moral, and spiritual strength. Jesus ‘proofed’ the Ruler portion in the community of His human spirit.
The kind of testing Jesus went through is not for us. Anyone who tells you that is what we are to endure is deceived at best and a deceiver at worst. That type of ungodly thinking demands allegiance to the very powers of darkness Jesus withstood so we could know the freedom He bought for us with His lifeblood. His was the temptation of the Ages. Jesus submitted to it, then taught us to pray that we would avoid trials and temptations that bring us into combat with the devil. Paul warned to take heed lest we fall, watch out for compromising situations, be on guard, and not be so sure of yourself to suppose you can withstand in areas others cannot. This prayer is for us: to ask Our Father to keep us from situations where we might become susceptible to temptation.
To the degree we receive into our being the Rulership of the Lord Jesus Christ in our thoughts, speech, attitudes and actions, our Ruler portion lives in the Son’s freedom. Wanting to be ruler is not the same as being ruler. In patience, we possess our souls (Luke 21:19). As we humble ourselves before the Lord – Who will raise us up in His time – the Ruler portion of our human spirit comes to rest in heeding Holy Spirit’s direction and discernment.
Stationed between Giver portion and Mercy portion, Ruler richly benefits from Giver God and loving His mercy.1
God Still Governs Human Experience
Part 2 of the article Pattern of Seven: Lead Us Not Into Temptation speaks to the secondary sense of temptation (peirasmos2); the same kinds of allurement we all face. We do not all succumb to the same temptations, but neither can we avoid going through trials and testing those allurements present, including being put to the proof.
No temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear.
But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it. I Corinthians 10:13 (J.B. Phillips NT)
Therein is the difference between humanity’s physical, moral, and spiritual strength – and Our Father’s. We are living in times increasingly designed to break our ability to trust anything we see or hear. But God can be trusted.
As the Twelve asked Him, “teach us to pray,” His pattern of seven prayer reached to us now and the days ahead. This sixth petition, “Lead us not into trials which we have not the grace to bear” is a supplication to take to heart. God still governs human experience through the activity of His Holy Spirit. What Jesus taught and modeled to His disciples as He physically dwelled among them, Holy Spirit now works among and within us to accomplish the Father’s will. The trustworthy will of Our Father in this age of grace is testament to the intensity of His mercy.3
SIN’S ALLUREMENT
James 1:13-15
No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil,[a] and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone.
14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
There are always two sides to every story. Having just looked at Father God’s, freedom insists we look at ours. Though “the devil made me do it” is a handy excuse, each one’s heart holds the real truth. How many times have we wanted what we wanted, longed for what we didn’t have, been discontent with what we did have… Then the Word of God squares the truth. Anyone whose desire has conceived, birthed, and grown sin knows death. Death of relationships, wholesome activities, opportunities, possessions, health, or life. Sin’s allurement loses its luster.
It was James, the half-brother of Jesus, who penned the above under Holy Spirit’s inspiration. He was in the thick of the sibling mockery and goading aimed at Jesus, because ‘His own brothers did not believe in him’. (John 7:1-6) Initially full of skepticism, James was converted after he witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. He soon went on to associate with the apostles and became a leader and presiding elder of the New Testament church in Jerusalem.
On a side note, Jesus did not come from a fully functional family. James and the other siblings grew up with Jesus, but they were also aware of the ‘story’ surrounding His birth. Imagine Mary. History esteems her as the mother of Jesus, but she was also mother to the rest of her children. The village gossips were far from kind when she turned up ‘with child’. Years later when James and siblings were old enough to ‘understand’, Mary knew they did not.
But God can be trusted. James’s letter is addressed to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. Still today, Holy Spirit uses it as the Sword of the Spirit: the Word of God. Jesus did say ‘wisdom is justified by her children’.4
Love’s PERSUASION
Hosea 2:13-15
And I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, put on her rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but forgot Me. This is the LORD’s declaration. Therefore, I am going to persuade her, lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.[a] There I will give her vineyards back to her and make the Valley of Achor[b] into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.
Sin’s allurement is strong; Love’s persuasion is stronger still. The Lord knows the way in the wilderness and troubling times where He speaks to our heart. And knows what we need to soften us to respond to His love so that we can pray, Lead us not into trials which we have not the grace to bear and into the vineyards You have kept, to return.
~ Nancy
Footnotes (HCSB) : a. James 1:13 – Or evil persons, or evil things; a. Hosea 2:14 Lit speak to her heart; b. Hosea 2:15 = Trouble
1 Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
2 Peirasmos – Greek: putting to the proof; proof; trial; or a test to see one’s strength and quality (under Proving Ground)
3 II Peter 3:9 4 Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:35
Accompanying reading:
Pattern of Seven: Lead Us Not Into Temptation
Pattern of Seven: The Armor of God ~ Sword of the Spirit: The Word of God
Category: Servant & The Principle of Authority
New Testament Letter of James 1-5
Click here for a printable PDF of this article: Redemptive Gifts Pattern of Seven – Lead Us Not Into Temptation, Part 2
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