Temptation.
“Temptation. I feel it starting to form. I don’t want to stumble again. Lord, help me.”
These are the thoughts I have had this morning. The honest and real thoughts that I am scared to confront. Partially because I don’t want to confront them. But I know they need to be.
It may seem like temptation rules your life. But, it doesn’t. You are in control of it. You are not always in control of what you listen to because of what’s going on around you, but you are in control of the power you let it have in your heart and mind. I am going to go through the process of how I am handling feeling tempted.
The past few days I have listened to some not so good music and that is a big trigger for me. Putting that together not spending time in God’s word the last two days is not a good combo. I find that most of my temptation comes from a result of the perspective that says, “I am too busy for God right now” or “I don’t need to read my bible, I’m good right now.”
The reality is that I am never too busy for God, He just isn’t my priority.
The reality is that I am never good without God, I am just being lazy and prideful.
So I recognize this. I recognize that when I have this mindset, temptations WILL come about because my mind is not where it should be. Because my mind is distracted and fixated on the flesh, I will then make decisions based upon what my flesh wants.
Do you see how easy that break down is? Do you see how easy the enemy can come in if we aren’t guarding our heart?
Anyways, I go to Jesus and repent for not prioritizing Him and seeking Him. I receive His love and forgiveness and I start in thankfulness to Him. I thank Him for who He is despite who I am and the choices I make. I thank Him for the steadfast love He pursues me with. I then go to scripture.
Colossians 3:5, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you; sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
Did you know idolatry is as simple as the act of worshipping other gods and idols? Friend, we are created to worship something and someone. So if that someone isn’t God and His goodness, it WILL be something else. In this culture of self love, we tend to worship ourselves. We tend to put ourselves on the pedestal of deserving the world when in reality, this ideology is so incredibly twisted.
As a result, this means that we give into temptation because we are elevating ourselves instead of Christ. We are not putting to death the earthly desires in us, we are giving them life within our being.
To be honest, I didn’t know what covetousness meant, so I googled it. The definition is, “to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: to covet another's property.”
I think it is important to note that when we covet, it’s because our eyes aren’t on the Lord. It’s because we are trying to compensate for something we aren’t receiving from the Lord. So what were to happen if we pursued the Lord in our temptations?
Psalm 37:4, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Notice how it says, “Take delight in the Lord” first. As a result of you gazing upon the Lord and His goodness, your desires will be through the lens of the Father. Also notice how when you covet something wrongfully, it usually is because your eyes are not on Him. So what happens now?
We fix our eyes on Him. We fix our eyes on the one who will give us the desires of our hearts. The desires that are good. The desires that will edify the body. The desires that honor God.
The fact that you are going through temptation isn’t bad. Temptation is not sin, Jesus went through temptation often. But He overcame through the Father & the Word. Same thing goes with us. We WILL be tempted, but we have the choice to choose our flesh or choose God.
1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
God is so good to help us and provide a way out. But we DO need to choose that route. How do we tangibly take the next step in NOT giving in?
Like I previously said in the beginning of this, it’s what you cultivate within your heart before the temptation even comes. But when you are put in front of a big opportunity to give in, here are some tangible tips:
Stop what you are doing and declare scripture over yourself. If you don’t have any memorized, get your bible or phone out, and READ.
If you are lying/ sitting down, get on the floor and do some push-ups or sit ups. If you can go on a walk or run, do it. I know this sounds funky, but it helps with all the hormones that are going crazy within you.
Text a friend and just tell them that you are feeling tempted. Accountability is honestly, crucial throughout this whole process. There is NO shame in this. Make sure your friend is trustworthy and have them check in with you occasionally. ]