Finding our way through the wilderness

Matthew 26:41

New International Version (NIV)

⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Day Thirteen

Fighting Temptations

   I have to admit this is one that I struggle with daily. It seems the harder I try the harder it is to succeed. This is because of the allure of temptation, whatever the temptation may be, is what draws me back into its clutches.  The temporary pleasure outweighs the longer lasting feeling of guilt, regret and shame. However, I know that I must continue to fight daily against temptation if I want to make it through my spiritual wilderness and onto my promised land.

   In order to overcome temptations we must first understand where it comes from. Temptations starts from the heart and the mind and it stems from our deepest motives and desires. So naturally the first place to start is with cleansing out our thoughts and our desire. The is why Jesus said for out of the heart comes evil thoughts- murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. (Matt. 15:19). He is telling us that one cannot commit these acts of evil without them first originating in our hearts.  So we can start to overcome temptation by readjusting our mindsets. Our thoughts and desire should not be of this world or of our own desires but they should be bent towards His will. When we do this we will be cutting off the problem at the root and we all know that without the roots a tree cannot grow, so is it with temptations.

  We also must that fighting temptations is truly a battle and if we want to win we must be prepared. Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so you can stand against the enemy’s schemes. And if you we verses 13 through 17 it tells you what the armor of God is; ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

In our scripture from above Jesus is talking to his disciples but He is also giving us a message for us during our fight to overcome temptations. He says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” In essence He is telling us to stay alert of the enemy’s attacks by staying in the word (watch) and to be ready for the enemy’s attack by saying close to God (pray) at all times. 

   

   Jesus also gives us a great example of how to fight temptations from the enemy when he was fasting in the wilderness for forty days before he started his ministry. I won’t quote it word for word but if you would like to read it go to Matthew 4:1-11. There the stricture says that Satan tempted Jesus three times and each time that he did Jesus used the word of God to defeat the enemy. So what can we learn from this? Whenever we are facing temptation we need to go to the word of God. This is why we should always keep the Word nearby wherever we go. It does not have to be the complete bible, but it could be our favorite scriptures that we like to read in our time of need. When we are in the Word we are in the spirit and the spirit has dominion over the flesh.

   In fighting temptations we have to have perseverance and endurance. Some many times we just give up and give in to temptation because we are tired of fighting it. We must stay diligent and faithful, praying to God for the will to make it through each trial of temptation.

  Lastly, know that we can rejoice in the midst of fighting temptations, because each time that we face temptation is a chance for us to grow. As we talked about in yesterday’s message, we should focus on our progression not our perfection. So take hope whenever we are facing a trail or temptation, for this is a chance for us to grow closer to our Lord.

   Whenever we are tempted we need to remember Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 10:13; “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” This lets us know that all have been tempted and failed. It is only through Christ Jesus that we are able to defeat our temptations. Paul’s words also tells us that God will never put more on us than we can bear, though sometimes it feels like He does. Take hope in the fact that He never does, He just knows our strength even if we can’t recognize it.  Keeping this in mind makes the task of fighting temptations more bearable and the chance of us succeeding greater.

      Please join us tomorrow as we continue our journey. Until then God Bless,

       James Anthony Love