The Blessing in Temptation

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me." 
(Luk 22:31-34)

Yes, there is blessing in temptation, or in the midst of temptation.  Temptation, in itself, is not wrong.  We are not yet sinning when we are being tempted.  Every Christian faces temptation every day.  It's how we face temptation that is important.
A temptation can become something bad, drastic even for us when we succumb to it and eventually sin.
But a temptation can actually be a blessing, especially when we realize the blessings that happen when we are in the midst of it.
Let's take a look at the example in our Lord's dealing with Simon.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat...
It's the "sifting like wheat" that strikes us first.  Imagine yourself going through this:


or this:


If you were the wheat being sifted, that is not an experience you want to go through.
That is exactly what Satan wants to do to us...he wants to sift us so bad that we give up on our faith and our righteousness.
But look what our Lord tells Peter before He describes Satan's temptation - 
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission...

Here is the first blessing regarding temptation - it has to go through our Sovereign Lord.  Satan needs to ask permission before he can actually sift us.  This shows us that Satan cannot just do anything that he wants with us.  He cannot just throw any kind of temptation toward us.  He needs to ask permission.
This also tells us that our God is really the great and awesome God He is, that even Satan is not independent of His plan.

Secondly, this tells us that our Lord is truly sovereign over our lives.  Nothing happens without His sovereign permission - whether it be a blessing or a temptation.
Now, we may ask, why will our Lord even allow us to be tempted in the first place?
Remember, temptations are tests, tests of our faith and allegiance to our Lord.  Our faith and our desire to walk with the Lord must be tested.

But doesn't God see me suffering through temptation?  Yes, our sovereign God knows this.  In fact, this is where His sovereignty again comes in with regards to temptation:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 
(1Co 10:13)

And that is a blessing, because this means that not only is God sovereign that Satan needs to ask permission, but He is also sovereign as to the kind of temptation that will be brought to us.  And He will not allow us a temptation that we cannot bear.

In other words, whatever temptation we are going through there is a way of escape.  It's an escape that can be found by faith, as we trust Him and hold on to Him, to see us through.  It is our Lord Himself who is making sure that we walk in the righteousness that He desires from us.