Fighting Temptation
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Galations 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh
Do you have a vice or a weakness you repeatedly end up letting you get foiled? Is there something you are trying to avoid, not do, and feel like a failure if you find yourself doing the activity? Mine is wine and I really don’t like wine. I have found very few that I truly enjoy the taste of, yet, I will put a glass in my hand at a social event, then agree to a second, and possibly a third if I am not driving, and once home safe and sound, may also have another if there is a bottle in the house.
I have a very slight headache the next day, certainly not enough to even be an annoyance, just enough to feel, and a lethargy, laziness, and realize my ‘ooompf’ has been misplaced. I should avoid wine, but once I have had the initial glass, I cannot seem to do that. This year, I am going to try to avoid all wine, not agree to any, and then give God praise that He has apparently broken this crazy compunction to swallow something I don’t particularly enjoy.
Most people have something that they would like to change; perhaps too much tv, bakery goods or some other sweets, hoarding, smoking, spending money and shopping, and so many other things that one might do. Some do not have issues with bad things, yet over-exercise, spending 3-5 hours with concentrated exercise, maybe to the exclusion of family, tweeting or other facets of social media, concentrating on your phone while out with friends and not talking, but texting with someone else during the time that should be set aside for the persons you are sitting with.
It’s possible to have a weakness, addiction for all kinds of things—not just the biggies of drugs, alcohol, ambling, shopping and stuff, but also the exercise, maintaining a severe unhealthy caloric intake, one too low to keep one’s body functioning.
These traits are perpetuated by Satan when we feel we have an issue and don’t want to continue, or realize we should not continue the behavior for various reasons. ‘Satan, the liar, smoothly whispers that having one glass of wine is manageable, then goes on to say, it is social, you can hold on to one glass for an entire evening. . .’ So I agree to the glass and unfortunately know what will happen.
So I am handing this to God. I have a God-bag where I dump stuff that I need help with and leave it in His hands. The deal is, that when the demon tries to whisper that I have failed, or I could be tempted to fail, I have to forcefully, mentally, push him aside, ask the Holy Spirit for help and know that God will help, and with faith, I will receive the strength to resist the temptation. I purposely remind myself I dropped this issue in the God bag, and God has this now. I trust it will not be a problem this day.
But, I do have to work the steps. I have to ask for help and know it will be given. It helps to have a scripture verse or two regarding temptation at my ready. Satan loves to battle for my mind, reminding me of all sorts of lies to try to entice me to do as he wishes and not as I wish. He doesn’t want me to succeed fighting temptation at all.
It’s early on in 2021, but so far God has helped me beat Satan back every time. I am so thankful I have God/Jesus Christ/ The Holy Spirit all rolled into one to help me win my battles against things I want to master. Thank You, God for helping me defeat the enemy and strengthening me to resist temptation for me and ‘mybellaviews.’
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