JEJ Episode 91-Standing Strong: Dealing With Temptation
We are concluding our series on Standing Strong against temptation in this episode. So far, we have seen that contrary to popular belief, God does not tempt or test us. We explored the root of temptation and concluded that it has its root in the wrong desires of our hearts and our emotions. In the last episode, we considered the question why we yield to temptation. We saw that we yield to temptation because we do not prepare our hearts to overcome temptation by being intentional about seeking God.
In this Episode we are going to look at what to do when we are actually facing temptation. How do we handle temptation when it rears its head? What do you do when the devil is pressurizing you to ignore the word of God and do what your flesh and emotion wants you to do?
Maybe you have been fighting the same temptation for years without being able to shake it off. How do you break the circle of lack of self control? Or telling lies? or substance abuse? How you handle temptation is very important to your spiritual health.
When temptation comes, your response is to resist. James 4.7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
How do we resist the devil?
Use the word as a sword
In Ephesians 6 Paul talks about the armor of God. The only offensive weapon listed in this scripture is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Speak to your temptations. Use the Word to kill them.
Usually when you are tempted, a thought first comes to mind. The more you focus on that thought, even thinking about how to avoid it, the more power it gains over you. Since your thoughts are the first seed of every temptation, you must replace those thoughts with God’s Word. Instead of thinking about the temptation, set your mind on God’s Word. Find Scriptures that speak directly about the temptation you are facing. Find Scriptures that remind you of God’s faithfulness and His promises. Post these Scriptures around you. Read them aloud; memorize them. For instance, Psalm 119.9, says, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.
Psalm 119:11 declares-“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Find more of such scriptures and confess them to the hearing of the devil.
Take the way out of temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13c But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Endure it. Paul says with temptation God will always provide a way of escape. There’s always a path to victory, an exit. There’s always a way out.
What is this way out? The way out is to take temptation as a test and a trial from the devil and the flesh. Do not welcome it by giving it a seat in your heart so that it begins to solicit sin. So you’ve been wronged, you’ve been falsely accused, you’ve been maligned, treated unkindly and unjustly. You can decide to endure it and retain your peace. That is the way of escape. It is difficult but you can let it pass. I always advise myself to endure. Sometimes, I am not able to and I respond. Afterward I feel bad. But next time it’s easier. If we start resisting, it becomes easier with time .
See the big picture.
When tempted, the devil will point you to the pleasure of the moment. But make yourself to see the big picture. Remind yourself of the consequences of yielding. What is the big picture? Giving authority over your life to the devil; losing your peace and fellowship with God for a season. Is it worth it? Keep asking that question- is it worth it? The pleasure you enjoy from yielding to temptation is only temporary. Remind yourself that if you yield to the temptation, the next thing is to feel bad and regret it. Is it worth it? See the bigger picture.
Run in the face of Abuse.
There are times when running away is an act of cowardice. There are also times when running is evidence of integrity. Joseph lost his garment by running but he kept his integrity.
Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day (Gen. 39:10).The temptation posed by this woman was a daily battle. One day Joseph found himself in a dangerous circumstance—alone in the house with the woman. She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” (Gen. 39:11-12). Joseph recognized the circumstance called for running.
The wise thing to do in this type of situation is to run. If you see that a person of the opposite sex is losing control or you notice a group of boys approaching you in a funny way, you need to run. If you find yourself in the midst of people planning to commit a crime or to harm someone, you need to run! There are many situations that call for running. If you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, He would prompt you to run from dangerous circumstances.
Pray for Help.
According to Thessalonians 3.3-“ the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one,” This is a comforting promise. When you are facing temptation, remember that God is 100 percent faithful to you. He has promised to strengthen you and protect you. He tells us in Hebrews 4.16 “to come boldly into His presence through prayer to find help in our time of need,” And in Matthew 6:13, Jesus Himself encouraged us to pray for protection during times of temptation.
When you face temptation, know that Jesus Christ is with you. He is able to guard you, protect you, empower you and uphold you. Jesus understands our temptations. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that He was tempted just like us. Even now, Hebrews 7:25 assures us that Jesus is praying to the Father for us. He is more than able to defeat this temptation through His Spirit that is at work in you, (1 John 4.4. Use these promises of God to pray and confess over your situation.
God has assured us that He will not allow us into any temptation more than we could handle.
We are assured in 1 Corinthians 10:13b that God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
The Lord never allows us at the point of our spiritual development to go through any temptation that is beyond our ability to deal with. He puts limits on the extent of temptation. There’s a ceiling, there’s a cap, and there’s a lid on what He will allow in the life of one of His own. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what He knows He has given you the Grace to bear.
When we fail, it is because we took our attention away from Christ, focused on something else and made a bad choice. But when we fail, the thing we must never do is to allow the devil to keep us down. We must get up, clean the dust off our clothes, and keep going, resolved to do better next time. They say that the Christian the devil fears most is the one who gets up as many times as he falls.
Let’s commit our temptations into God’s hands today. And ask Him to give us the strength to be overcomers.
Father we rejoice in the fact that you would never let us be tempted beyond what we can bear; that when we face temptation, you protect us, empower us, uphold us and never stop praying for us. To you our Father, who is able to keep us from stumbling we give all the glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, now and forever.