James 1: 13-15

13-15 'Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for Got cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

This is a difficult part of the passage for me. I don't fully see how everything works together to be completely honest. Why is the first thing that God doesn't do is be tempted himself. At first glance this seems like a random thought.

All of this is very difficult, its the problem of evil. If God has created everything, how is there sin in this world? There isn't someone that also is a manufacturer of creation; He definitely has the corner on the market. So, it must have been that He created people without controlling them, and that ultimately it is because they are the created that they (we) don't match His perfectly beautiful character.

To get to the bottom of this, we need to find out what not tempting actually excludes from God's actions. So lets examine examples of times He lets people endure difficult things. He gave Satan power to test Job, and it was He who suggested to Satan
'have you considered my servant Job, that there is none lie hime on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil' -Job 1:3

But at the end of their long interaction and discussion between 'friends' God's purpose in showing Job his helplessness is revealed:
'Where were you when I laid the foundation of the Earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements, surely you know!' -Job 38:4-5

What about God's promised land to the Israelites in Numbers:
'Send men to spy out the land of Canaan which I am giving to the people of Israel.' -13:2
Yet this wasn't any completely straightforward task. The twelve spies came back with an interesting report:
'There we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephalim), and we seemed to ourselves as grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.' -Numbers 13:33

It had to have passed through Joshua and Calebs minds 'this is unbelIEVABLE!' LOOK AT WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST, but these initial (hypothetical) doubts were rooted in doubting the character of God, so this is where our dilemma arises. God turns the King's heart as a channel of water, and hardens the arrogant heart of Pharaoh, and I am not really sure how a completely sovereign God has utter control of sinful people. How does God's holy nature touch sinfulness without being sinful? I have no answers at this point. Paul wrestled with similar things too though in Romans 9- who can resist the will of the Lord....who are you to answer back to God, you creature?....

A note on the last section of the verse, on sin. It is like a baby at first, helpless, innocent and annoying at the worst. But the potential of what it can grow into is incredible. Think about the evil men of history having been babies at one point. If someone had known what Hitler would do in his later years, they would have stopped feeding him as a child, or thought crazy not to, and this is the same with our sinful tendencies. Its not the decision we make in the moment to give into our dark desires, but the lethargic spirit we have in not confronting small compromises daily. Just this once. Could be worse. Look at what they are doing.

'Father, I'm not going to stop messing up this side of heaven, but help me to fight and be broken over my rebellious, faithless heart. Help me to know you better so that I might both trust you and understand you better. This passage being a perfect example, I can't comprehend even simple things about your character. I can't wait to meet you face to face. I can't wait to see the tapestry of all your attributes woven together and working together. Grant me patience in this life in waiting for such a revelation. Thank you that perfect understanding is not your acceptance of us. I love you. Amen'