SCRIPTURE: “Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” (Prov. 4:26-27 NIV)
QUOTE: “A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is… A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.” – C. S. Lewis
NOTE:
In building we post an evacuation plan, to be prepared in case of an emergency. Why not also have temptation plans, so we can be prepared in case of temptation? When temptation strikes, it’s very helpful to have a plan in place. We often fail simply because we do not have a battle plan for defeating a temptation. Thankfully, Scripture gives us keys for what to do during a temptation, and from these keys we can develop a temptation plan.
According to Proverbs, there are people who “walk in darkness” and “do not know over what they stumble” (Prov. 4:19). We do not want to be like that, so we have to become self-aware when we are being tempted. We have to train ourselves to realize that, “Hey, I’m being tempted now!” It helps to call it out loud. Instead of being washed about by the feelings of temptation, say: “I see what’s happening here; I’m being tempted to sin right now.”
This will give you power over your feelings and put you back in control to decide how to act, rather than just unconsciously going along with enticing feelings. To get better at this, we should pray to the Lord to help us to become more self-aware during temptation. Truth is, you will always be tempted with your cravings. Like our Lord Jesus Christ, Joseph, and many more who overcame at such hours, you should know that the devil is the personality behind every temptation.
ILLUSTRATION:
“Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days, he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the Satan said unto him, “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
REFLECTION:
When you agree with the tempter during temptation, who do you blame afterwards, the devil or situations?
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING: Catch-Day, Psalm 91