“Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you.”
Psalm 50:15 (NLT) Sometimes you’re going to need an “emergency kit” for temptation. When you get in a situation where you’re tempted and you don’t know what to do, you need to cry out to God. If you’re facing a temptation and you start to panic because you feel the adrenaline running through your body, you can’t have a long conversation with God—and you don’t have to! You can just do what I call a “microwave prayer,” and it’s one word: Help! You tell God, “This is not where I want to be right now, and I’m about to step across the line. I need your help right now.” God promises, “Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you” (Psalm 50:15 NLT). Cry out to God. When you do, you can expect him to help you, because he’s sympathetic to your situation. The Bible says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). Did Jesus ever struggle with anger? Yes. Did Jesus ever wrestle with loneliness? Yes. Did Jesus ever deal with sex and sexuality? Yes. Was he ever tempted by fatigue and discouragement? Yes. How? Because he’s God, but he’s God in a fully human body. Jesus faced the same temptations we do, so we can expect him to help us when we cry out to him. And we don’t have to feel shame. “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT). That is a great comfort. And that is the power to change.
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“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) If you want to be able to fight the persistent temptations in your life, you need to know what makes you vulnerable to Satan’s efforts. Ephesians 4:27 says, “Do not give the devil a foothold” (NIV). Don’t give Satan a place in your life to start leveraging your weaknesses and get you messed up. What’s the most common foothold you can give Satan that allows him to push all these temptations? It’s any negative emotion. Anytime you have a negative emotion, you’ve just given Satan a foothold in your life, and you’re going to be more vulnerable than at any other time to temptation. That’s why the Bible says in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV). Your heart sits at the center of your emotions. But to defeat temptation, don’t focus on your behavior and what you’re about to do. Instead, identify the thoughts you’re having and the feelings that come out of those thoughts. That’s how Satan hooks you—not with your behavior but with your thoughts. He plays with your emotions every day of your life. He hooks your feelings. He is a master manipulator of your moods. Satan gets certain emotions stirring by influencing your thoughts and causing you to doubt God’s Word. Once he’s got you emotionally involved, you’re cooked. When your emotions have kicked in, the behavior is going to happen. Satan knows your negative emotions will lead you to sin. You are far more vulnerable to temptation when you’re experiencing negative emotions. Satan knows what they are and will work them for your destruction. Shouldn’t you know what they are too? The only way you’ll be able to fight any persistent temptation in your life is to identify the emotions that make you vulnerable. Then refocus your mind on God’s Word so that you can replace those negative emotions with God’s love. “When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.”
2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NLT) You can’t defeat temptation if you don’t understand how it works. The only good thing we can say about Satan is that he doesn’t have any new ideas. He’s used the same temptations over and over since humanity was created. The tactics he used on Adam and Eve are the ones he’s still using today. God had clearly told Adam and Eve they could eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When Satan tempted Eve, he asked her something like, “Did God really say to not eat this?” And then he said, “Go ahead and try it. You’re not going to die if you eat this! You’re going to be a god yourself.” Satan uses that same pattern in your life every day. First, it starts with a wrong desire inside you, like envy, lust, or impatience. Or it starts with a right desire, like for food or sex or love, but with the temptation to fulfill it in the wrong way at the wrong time. Satan can take any desire and make it destructive. Then he causes you to doubt God’s Word and whispers, “Did God really say that?” He takes the seed of your doubt and grows it into a lie he knows you are vulnerable to accepting. Behind every sin is a lie you choose to believe. Remember, Satan is crafty. He knows where in your life you are most likely to fall, and he focuses on turning your doubt into full-blown deception. When you believe Satan’s lie, you’re saying, “I know what will make me happy more than God does.” You legitimize your wrong desire. You convince yourself it’s not that bad. And then you fall into disobedience. The Bible says, “When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11 NLT). God doesn’t want you to be ignorant of how Satan works, because when you understand Satan’s tactics, you can see him coming with his schemes. The key is not resisting your temptations but knowing how to respond to Satan’s predictable patterns. “Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest.”
Galatians 6:7 (GW) You don’t plant apple seeds and get tomatoes. In the same way, you don’t plant bitterness and get love. You don’t plant criticism and then get encouragement from other people. Galatians 6:7 says, “Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest” (GW). Read that again: “Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest.” If you plant in the soil of your sinful nature, you’ll harvest destruction. But if you plant in the soil of your spiritual nature, you’ll harvest everlasting life. God has said for thousands of years that our sins can affect future generations. For instance, when you’re angry and you lose your temper with your kids, you’re setting them up to lose their temper with their kids. Sins get perpetuated in families, possibly for multiple generations. Not only does it work relationally and environmentally, but it also works physically. We now know your brain can actually be changed by repetitive behavior, for good or for bad. Everyone used to think the brain was pretty much set in stone by the time you were an adolescent. Now we know about brain plasticity and how your brain can continue to be molded for the rest of your life. That’s good to know! It means if your brain has been naturally molded toward depression or a quick temper or anxiety, it can change. But you’ve got to change the way you think. The Bible refers to this as repentance or changing your mind. You can change your mind, and when you do, it changes the way you feel. And when you change the way you feel, it changes the way you act. Then, you plant in your spiritual nature and watch what amazing fruit God will reap in your life. “The world’s sin is unbelief in me.”
John 16:9 (TLB) At the root of every sin rests at least a momentary doubt about God. In John 16:9 Jesus says, “The world’s sin is unbelief in me” (TLB). When you don’t believe Jesus is who he says he is or he’ll do what he says he’ll do, that’s the root of all sin. Here are some emotions you can look for that can help you know when you’re doubting God. When you become fearful or anxious, it often reveals your unbelief in God’s promises. The Bible offers more than 7,000 promises. If you claim them, you’ll see your fear and anxiety levels go down. It’s the world’s greatest insurance policy. When you become impatient, it reveals your doubt in God’s perfect timing. God has a plan for your life, but he’s never going to be in a hurry. That’s easy to forget when you want things to happen on your own timetable—so you take matters into your own hands instead of waiting on God. When you become resentful or bitter, it reveals your doubt in God’s wisdom. God is wise and good and loving. But when things don’t turn out like you plan or want, you think he messed up somehow. And you don’t believe he can bring good out of bad. When you dwell in guilty feelings, it reveals your unbelief in God’s forgiveness. How long should a follower of Jesus feel guilty? About one second. That’s how long it takes to confess a sin. If you’re carrying around guilt, it means you can’t forgive yourself because you don’t believe God has forgiven you. When you feel inadequate, it reveals your doubt in God’s power. God has said his power shows up best in your weakness. But when you don’t believe that, it shows you think power should come only from yourself. If you think that, you’re always going to be disappointed. Do you want to turn around those feelings of fear, impatience, resentment, guilt, and inadequacy? Then you need to start doubting your doubts. If you believe in God’s Word, you can trust what it says about God and the way he feels about you and takes care of you. You can trust that God keeps his promises, has perfect timing, is wise, forgives you, and works powerfully through you. “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.”
Romans 8:5 (NLT) Have you ever felt like you are a hostage to your thoughts? Maybe you just can’t get a thought out of your mind. Or you often find yourself doing things you don’t want to do. You knowingly engage in self-defeating behavior. You know something is not good for you, but you do it anyway. Romans 7:23 says, “I see a different law at work in my body—a law that fights against the law which my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body” (GNT). Because of your sinful nature, you think of yourself and your wants more than what God wants. It’s a battle in your mind, and you’re losing it. Your old nature—who you were before Jesus changed your life—is not your friend. It is the source of all your self-defeating habits that tend to take you down. Do you want to break those habits and have more control over the way you think? Then you need to hear and understand this truth: You don’t have to believe everything you think. Your mind lies to you all the time. Just because you think something is true doesn’t make it true. Just because you feel something is true doesn’t make it true. Your mind and your emotions often lie to you. Part of spiritual growth—becoming more like Jesus—is learning to know the difference between thoughts that are true and those that are not. One of the most important disciplines you can build in life is to challenge your own thoughts. Say to yourself, “I know what I’m thinking, but is that really true?” No matter how far you go in your spiritual walk, your old, sinful nature will keep trying to take control of your thoughts. You have to learn to question your thoughts, not just one time but throughout your day and throughout your life! When you start to think nobody likes you, ask yourself if that’s really true. If you think it’s never going to get better, ask yourself if it’s true. When you think your life is worthless, question what Satan is trying convince you of. Then, remember what you know from God’s Word to be true. The Bible teaches, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit” (Romans 8:5 NLT). “I am not really alone, because the Father is with me.”
John 16:32 (GNT) Having the mind of Christ means always being aware that God is with you. We see this in the life of Jesus. Jesus lived in the presence of God and stayed connected to the favor of God. No matter how busy he was, he stayed in tune with the Father. Jesus said, “I am not really alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32 GNT). This is why the greatest antidote to loneliness is thinking like Jesus. When you have the mind of Christ, you’ll be able, like him, to say, “I’m not alone because I know the Father is always with me.” When we feel alone, it’s often the result of not living with the mind of Christ—we’re not aware of God’s constant care. How can you always stay aware of God’s constant care? One way is through prayer. Jesus made prayer a daily habit: “Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray” (Luke 5:16 CEV). Notice this verse says that Jesus often slipped away so he could pray. You can’t just do that every now and then if you want to have the mind of Christ. Jesus’ prayer life was continual. He made it the priority of his life to be with his Father. It was a habit. Do you stop and pray throughout the day? Do you think your day would go better if you developed this habit? If Jesus felt the need to slip away and pray throughout his day, then think about how much more we need it! When you don’t take the time to talk with God, you miss the gifts of God. It’s not God’s will for you to be too busy for him. In fact, you’ll get more done in every area of your life if you take the time to stop and pray. That doesn’t seem like it should work. If you’re always stopping to pray, how are you going to get more done? When you pray, you’re taking time to let God’s Spirit remind you what your purpose is. Then you’re able to focus your mind and heart on what matters most. Jesus Christ knew who he was and what his purpose was. He was always aware of God’s presence. When you get the mind of Christ, you’ll have those things, too, and you’ll always be aware that God is with you. “Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
Romans 8:6 (NLT) Have you noticed your mind doesn’t always do what you tell it to do? Sometimes your mind has a mind of its own. Sometimes your thoughts go off in directions that you don’t intend. When you need to pray, your thoughts stray. When you want to ponder God’s Word, your thoughts want to wander. The Bible says, when this happens, you need to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). What does that mean? The Greek word used in that verse literally means you take thoughts prisoner. You conquer them. You bring them under control. That’s only possible when you use the two weapons every believer has available to them: the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. First, you need to recognize the power of God’s Spirit inside you. Without him, you are defenseless. Romans 8:6 says, “Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (NLT). You need Jesus in your life because, without the Holy Spirit, your sinful nature controls your mind and will always lead you in the wrong direction. But when the Spirit controls you, you have the power you need to take every thought captive. Second, you need the Word of God. Jesus says, “If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32 GNT). People like to quote the second part of that passage. In fact, it’s posted on university buildings all over the world. But very few people quote the first part, where it says you have to learn and obey God’s Word. People want the freedom without God’s truth. In reality, there is no freedom without truth. And there is no truth without God’s Word. God has given you the direction you need for life, and you can trust every word the Bible says. The more you get to know God’s Word and fill your mind with his truth, the easier it will be to direct your thoughts where you want them to go. “Fools will believe anything, but the wise think about what they do.”
Proverbs 14:15 (NCV) Every behavior is based on a belief. If you act scared, it’s because you believe scary thoughts at that moment. If you act resentful, it’s because you believe you’ve been devalued, and so you’re going to defend yourself. If you’re acting prideful, it may be because you believe you’re not good enough, so you’re trying to compensate by being boastful. If there is a behavior in your life you don’t like, go to the source and change the thought behind it. God says in Haggai 1:5, “Carefully consider your ways!” (GW). Ask yourself: Why do I act that way with this person? Why do I act this way at work or school? Why do I act this way with certain neighbors? What thought triggered that response? What assumption is behind that action? What belief is beneath that behavior? Have you ever been in this kind of conflict with your spouse or significant other: It starts off simple enough—but before you know it, something in the argument triggers your emotions, and you go from zero to 100 in emotional intensity in two seconds? Then you’re out of control, upset, nervous, or fearful. You may start sweating, or your voice may rise. Maybe tears start coming down your cheeks. Something in that moment tapped into an unspoken belief. You may believe the other person is going to leave you. You may believe you haven’t been heard. You may believe your idea isn’t being given validation and you’re not being treated with respect. You believe something that suddenly triggered an emotional response. If you’re ever in a situation like that, you need to ask this question: What am I believing right now? You need to examine the beliefs beneath your behavior. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:15, “Fools will believe anything, but the wise think about what they do” (NCV). To grow in any area of life, examine what’s going on in your mind. Start thinking about what you’re thinking about so your thoughts can lead to healthy, purposeful action. “God is fair; he will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them.”
Hebrews 6:10 (NCV) We’re all given the same number of minutes in a day. And we’re all given the same goal—to become more like Jesus. If you were to describe Jesus in one word, it might be this: unselfish. So, for you and me, the whole goal of life is learning how to become more and more unselfish, because to be unselfish is love—and Jesus is love. The Bible promises, “God is fair; he will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them” (Hebrews 6:10 NCV). Our reward in heaven is going to be based on what we did here on earth. One day, we’re all going to stand before God, and he’s going to say, “What did you do with what you were given?” Do you want to say, “Well, I made a lot of money, retired, and died”? You were put on earth for more than that! Instead, live unselfishly and give yourself away for others and the Kingdom of God. Then you will be able to say to God, “I gave it all, Lord. I’m laid bare. Everything I have and am, I gave it away for the Gospel.” One of the most significant things you can do with your life is to give it away—to be generous with what you’ve been given, including your money, resources, time, and talent. God clearly says that when there is no service or generosity, there will be no reward in heaven. Is that how you want your time on earth to end? Make your time on earth count for eternity. Help people come to know Christ, discover their purpose for life, grow in their maturity, find their ministry, and serve in their mission in the world. When you give your life away, life takes on new meaning, new joy, and new excitement. That’s when you begin to fully live. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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