“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) Being on a broken planet means you will never outgrow temptation. But it’s important to remember that it’s not a sin to be tempted. It’s a sin to give in to temptations. You’re not a bad Christian because you have persistent temptations in your life. You’re human! You’re not responsible for the thoughts Satan puts in your mind from a thousand different stimuli. But you are responsible for what you do with them. You can choose not to dwell on a thought. You change your mind! You choose to think of something different. Then, you have not sinned because you didn’t act on your temptation. Martin Luther said, “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.” If you have a bad thought, don’t be intimidated by it. Don’t beat yourself up. That’s what Satan wants you to do, because the more you get down on yourself, the more he can manipulate those negative emotions and lead you to sin. A thought is only a temptation. It’s your choice whether it turns into a sin. You’re going to be tempted the rest of your life. Even the oldest, most mature Christian in the world is still tempted. The mature Christian knows that the closer you get to God, the more Satan will throw at you, hoping something will stick. But the closer you get to God, the better prepared you are to face whatever Satan throws at you and to resist him. Don’t be intimidated by Satan. As a Christian, you’ve got the Holy Spirit’s power in you. You’ve got God’s Word to give you truth. You’ve got Jesus to cry out to. You’ve got everything you need to overcome your temptations!
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“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. “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. “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."
Psalm 50:15 (NIV) Do you ever feel alone when you’re struggling with temptation? You’re not! The Bible says God is ready to help. In the Bible, Jesus gives you a prayer of deliverance to use when you’re tempted. He tells you to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13 ESV). We often shorten that prayer to just one word: Help! Prayers don’t have to start with fancy words like “our gracious heavenly Father.” When you need deliverance from temptation, you can get right to the point: “Help! Keep my eyes straight” or “Help! I don’t like the way my relative treats me, and I’m going to see her today” or “Help! Everything in me just wants to get back at him!” The Bible is full of people who prayed for deliverance—like David, Daniel, Esther, Peter, and Paul. God was there to help them, and he’ll help you too. In fact, God hears and helps everyone who asks. You may wonder, “Why can I expect God to help me when I pray the prayer of deliverance?” Because God has promised to help. The Bible says, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15 NIV). God doesn’t say you must have a long conversation with him. You can just say, “Help, God! I’m facing something now that willpower won’t get me through.” He knows everything that’s going on in your life, and he’s sympathetic to your situation. He knows how irritating some people are to you; he knows about the things that tempt you. The Bible says it very clearly: “[Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 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 4:15-16 NLT). Notice that the Bible says, “[Jesus] understands.” Why is Jesus sympathetic? Because he faced the same temptations that you face. You may be thinking, “Wait a minute. Are you saying Jesus was tempted to get angry?” Yes, I am. “You’re telling me Jesus was tempted to have self-pity?” Yes. The Bible says he was tempted in all the ways you are, yet he did not sin. Because Jesus was tempted but didn’t sin, he’s just who you need to help you overcome your own temptations. In fact, he wants to help you. When you’re tempted, God isn’t angry with you. He’s not going to scold you. On the contrary, he wants you to come boldly to him! He says, “I’m here to help.” “Run from all these evil things.”
1 Timothy 6:11 (NLT) Do you have an emergency plan for getting away when you’re tempted? Do you have preventative strategies to help you stay away from your biggest temptations? If you don’t have those things, you need them now! First, your emergency plan. When you find yourself tempted, you need a panic button, an emergency plan. The Bible is clear about what that emergency plan is: You run. 1 Timothy 6:11 says, “Run from all these evil things” (NLT). The Bible says you need to move quickly out of any situation that causes you temptation. Never argue with a temptation. You’ll always lose. Emotions will take over, and emotions aren’t always logical. No matter the temptation, you have to get away. It could be a temptation to cheat in business. It could be a sexual temptation. But your response should be the same: Get out. But even better than running from temptation is to prevent temptation in the first place. Another way to say that is this: If you don’t want to get stung, stay away from the bees. A listen to tell teenagers, “Don’t decide in the back seat of a car that you’re going to be sexually pure and save yourself for marriage.” You must make a preventative strategy in advance and not put yourself in the tempting situation. If you end up in the back seat of a car, you’re going to move by your glands, not your plans. Hormones will kick in, and you’ll be overwhelmed. The same principles apply throughout life. If you know you get short-tempered with your children when you’re tired, develop a preventative strategy. Set an earlier bedtime for your kids or have some quiet time for everyone at the time of day that’s most difficult for you. Don’t wait until you’re faced with a morally questionable deal to decide that your business will be above reproach. Build into your business plan accountability that prevents you from being tempted in the moment. Take time today to develop preventative strategies for temptation. And when those don’t work out, have your emergency plan: Don’t resist temptation—run from it. That’s the simplest and surest way out. “Anger gives a foothold to the devil.”
Ephesians 4:27 (NLT) In every quarrel, an unseen spiritual war is going on behind the scenes. At the surface, a quarrel may seem minor. You may think you’re arguing about who didn’t take out the garbage or who left their clothes on the floor. But at a deeper level, Satan is trying to create chaos, distractions, and destruction in your relationships. He is behind the scenes, taking every opportunity to produce conflict in your life. You won’t have peace in your life if you think you’re fighting only with another person. You are fighting against spiritual forces. Satan is not seen, but he is real. He is the source behind all conflict. Ephesians 4:27 says, “Anger gives a foothold to the devil” (NLT). Anger gives Satan something to hold on to in your life. Any time you get angry and use hurtful words, you open the door for Satan to get a foothold in your emotions and create chaos. You can’t have healthy relationships if you have uncontrolled and chaotic emotions. When you become angry, Satan is at the ready with an arsenal of hurtful words that he plants in your mind. He stokes your pride. He makes you think you must be right or have the last word. He keeps you from seeing or caring about the hurt you’re causing. How do you fight against that kind of power? You’ve got to resist the devil. When you realize you’re about to get into a quarrel with someone, be aware that Satan has a plan to upset you. He wants you to be stressed, angry, and hurt. Satan will use any negative emotion in your life to destroy your peace. But you don’t have to let him do that! “We don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!” (2 Corinthians 2:11 The Message). If you don’t know how Satan schemes, then you will be outwitted time and time again. But now you know that—when you get angry and use hurtful words—you’re giving Satan a foothold in your life and your relationships. So you’ll be able to stop the quarrel before it starts. The next time you’re tempted to respond in anger, make the choice to speak life and love instead. “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. “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. “Two are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT) Is there a temptation you keep stumbling with over and over again? Maybe it’s related to jealousy, worry, lust, gossip, gluttony, or the overuse of electronics and social media. Whatever it is, you won’t have victory over a persistent temptation if you try to overcome it by yourself. Who’s helping you fight temptation? While you’re spending more time alone during the pandemic, who’s checking up on you? Who have you invited to help you grow spiritually? Who do you allow to ask you the tough questions? Who are youchecking up on? The Bible says, “Two are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT). You don’t have to tell everybody about the temptations you struggle with, but you do need to tell somebody. That person can support you and help you overcome your struggles. When someone says, “I’ve never told this to anybody before . . . ” be quick to listen and pay attention because it may mean they are taking the first step toward freedom. Remember this: Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. Talking about your temptations is the way you overcome them. How serious are you about changing? Wouldn’t you like to come out of the pandemic with a stronger faith, having overcome a persistent temptation? Why not reach out to a friend, who can help you be accountable. You can connect through text, direct message, video chat, or even a good, old-fashioned phone call. There are some bad habits in your life you’re just not going to get over until you get support from a committed friend. Find that person, and then be that person for someone else. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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