February 14
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5
Today is Valentine’s Day in the USA, a day where cards and gifts are exchanged with loved ones. So I’m thinking two things are in order today, each of which can help us overcome temptation.
First, it would be good today to tell the Lord how much we love and appreciate Him for all the grace He gives us and how He continues to provide even when we don’t deserve it, even when we continue to sin against Him. As Psalm 103 says, forget not His benefits. Think about His kindness, mercy, patience, provision, and thank Him for all of these things. He is truly long-suffering with us, even when we sin against Him again and again and again. This promised faithfulness to forgive us the sins we commit against Him is truly astounding and apart from any other gift this is worthy of great praise and adoration for Him.
But also understand that just telling the Lord we love Him and not obeying Him is hypocrisy. Jesus made it very clear that if we love Him, we will obey Him and keep His commandments. So we are not just about telling the Lord how much we love Him but showing it by obedience to Him. Even when we stumble and fall into sin for the thousandth time, even when we feel like such failures that He will never accept us or love us again, even if we feel like we are so deep in our sin that it really doesn’t matter and one more sin won’t make a difference, be encouraged that every small step in obedience is significant, and every minute spent trying to please the Lord and avoid sin is worth it and is pleasing to Him. Don’t give up on yourself if you feel defeated, for God isn’t giving up on you. If you are not feeling defeated, give God the glory and love Him with all your heart, and consider what areas you haven’t given over to the Lord and begin to ask the Lord to show you and give you the grace to obey Him fully in these areas.
The second thing we can do today to help overcome temptation is to tell our loved ones how much we love them. Doing something thoughtful, writing a card, giving a gift, doing acts of kindness or service, all of these are examples of love. These acts of love help overcome and uproot bitterness that we might be harboring against the individual, which can tempt us in a number of ways and lead to sin. Purpose to state and demonstrate your love for your family members today, and ask the Lord to take away any ill feelings or bitterness that you have toward them.
After today passes, keep in mind these two very important areas, demonstrating our love for the Lord by obeying Him fully, and demonstrating our love for our family members by serving them. Doing these well will help us develop positive attitudes and habits that will reap benefits in other areas of our lives, including helping in our efforts to overcome temptation.