Truth v Lies - who wins?

I'm sitting here doing my bible study and have come across James 1:12 'God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him'. Like most people (though I like to think I'm the only one) I struggle with temptation and doing the things I don't want to do and when I read this scripture it made me think about what this really means and whether I could qualify for the blessing!!

My first thought was to try harder to avoid or say no to external temptations but then I realized there are probably some internal ones that need more attention because actually it's often the internal ones that lead to the external ones. My greatest temptation is to believe lies about who God is and about myself. I suddenly thought that every time I keep believing that God is good, that I am fearfully and wonderfully made and that all things really do work together for good in spite of what I may see or feel at any given moment, God blesses me. So many situations test our internal beliefs and we can be tempted into discouragement, lack of faith, apathy and hopelessness and then our negative actions follow.

For me each day is a test in my mind and a chance to say yes or no to some tempting thoughts. Joyce Meyer calls it the 'battlefield of the mind' and this is such a great description because it is a war between the truth and the lies. Both affect the way we live. One of the ways God blesses me is by giving me His peace and it comes when I resist the temptation to believe the lies and choose the truth.

I also realize I need to not only patiently endure the testing and the tempting thoughts but I also need to patiently endure with myself as I fall and get up and fall again. Praise God for Jesus and for a Father's heart that wants to bless us.