April 29
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
By now we should have determined that we intend to be victorious over our sins, selected our top few sins and analyzed them in detail and the paths that we take that end up in sin and stumbling, and thought through whether our sins are due to deception or disobedience. Armed with that, we are now ready for the remaining two steps
(4) formulating a plan for victory, and
(5) praying and readying ourselves to gain the victory next time.
Our plan for victory should become fairly obvious once we have thoroughly analyzed the paths we take into sin. If we are deceived, then our plan for victory needs to include studying the scriptures and perhaps other books to understand what truth is and replace deceived thinking with true thinking. If we are prone to think that God doesn’t like us and has forsaken us, we need to consciously replace those thoughts with the truth, that God loves us more deeply than we could ever imagine, and although everyone else abandon us and forsake us, He never will. We must identify our deceptions and replace those deceptions with God’s truth. If the deceptions that lead to sin are not clear to you at this point, then I recommend you seek out your pastor or other godly man (if you are a man) or woman (if you are a woman) and seek their help with identifying deceptive beliefs that you are holding on to.
If disobedience is our problem, then it is a matter of the will. Do I really want to obey God rather than the impulses of my flesh? Do I still insist on being my own master, or am I willing to surrender control to Christ and let Him be my Master? Do I want to continue to wallow in my vomit and folly (Proverbs 26:11), or do I want to walk in newness of life, in righteousness, peace, a clear conscience, and confidence before God? At some point, we have to make a choice of the will that we will surrender our wills to Christ. We must cry out to Him to take the reigns, to change our wills so that our will is simply to do His will. We must seek wisdom and obedience and treasure them. We must learn to seek and treasure the “knowledge of His will” “so that we may walk in a manner worthy of Him, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10)
Armed with truth, obedience, and the control of the Holy Spirit, we develop a plan. A plan could include a daily regimen, daily reminders, daily scripture review, daily decisions, daily prayers, and daily vows even, all designed to keep us away from sin that day. Write down your plan. Put it in a place where you can see it and review it regularly.
If you are really struggling, just focus on today. Ask God for victory today. Keep focused on walking in victory today. Don’t worry about whether or not you can do it tomorrow, just think and pray about victory today. God is faithful, and He will show you the way of escape and enable you to faithfully take it.
What is your plan for overcoming temptation in your life?
We must be willing and surrendered to the Holy Spirit within us throughout the day and follow our plan. And every plan must include step (5) praying fervently for victory and preparing ourselves mentally for the battle before it begins, during the attacks, and after our victories. These should be part of our daily plan to ready ourselves and prepare for temptation.