For all of July and August, and now starting September, I have been sending emails to someone three time zones away, as we both were reading Charles Stanley’s Daily Devotionals from In Touch Ministries (ITM).
I enjoy this exercise and I want to keep track of these thoughts, so now, I include them here as I believe we should surround ourselves with other believers who want the best for us, like Charles Stanley 🙂 and we should track our journey, for so many reasons!
In Charles Stanley’s, daily devotion today, September 1st, titled, The Struggle With Temptation, he calls temptation the most troubling and defeating struggle we go through here on Earth.
He refers to scripture, James 1:13-15, which is powerful.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. We know this, we pray it every day… You lead us not into temptation… the book of Job shows that He sometimes allows us to be tested. But in Job 42:3, Job says to God, “You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” I LOVE this verse. For as educated as I am… and with all the intellectual gifts God has given me… I can look back at my life, and humbly repeat those words. They remind me that there are so many Godly possibilities that I can’t even begin to conceptualize. [C.S. Lewis gives the example of trying to explain the possibility of a cube to a two-dimensional square.]
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. He writes… the enticements may vary, but the pressure just never seems to let up. Temptations can arise from (1) our sinful nature (2) the worldly system around us or (3) forces of evil seeking to pull us away from righteous choices. Thus weakening ‘the church’ as in ‘the whole body of Christ’.
‘Lust’ is a perversion of desire. All the good pleasures that God has given us… that we have experienced… that we can look back on and remember and then recognize in a present moment, expressing our gratitude and joy. These are what God gives us. In our desire to continue experiencing this joy, our Pride steps in and tells us WE can control this! So, we take our eyes off Him, the source of all good and look around the world to see ‘how else can I get this pleasure?’ And that is where lust comes in… our desire to manufacture pleasure without God. Is it really a surprise, that we fail?
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. It is necessary to forget what the world tells you when you hear the term ‘LUST’. This entire concept must be put into the framework of where your focus is. What are you looking at… what are you listening to… in other words, as a believer, with the Holy Spirit living within you, are you even giving Him a chance to work His wonders in you?
Today’s devotion concludes: The place to halt a temptation is at the first thought. God wants us to let it pass, call out to Him in prayer, and stand firm in obedience to Christ.
If you have NOT read/watched The Screwtape Letters, here is a link to the audio book on YouTube.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Ephesians 4:25-27 – Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
One of my gifts is problem-solving and you cannot create a solution until you understand the problem. Temptation is a fundamental problem of life on Earth, but it is NOT an Earthly problem. If all your attempts at solving your temptation issues have failed, then led to guilt, despair, regret, etc., give yourself a break. You may not have understood that this problem is a SPIRITUAL problem and it requires SPIRITUAL weapons, not the worldly ones we use for worldly problems like household budgets, weight control, and our relationships.
If there is a nagging temptation that is wrapped around you like a python, quit fighting it with your own mental resources. Admit you may be out of your league and STOP and ASK GOD for His help. [Matthew 7:7]
Grace, love, and peace to you.
Thank you for sharing this and reminding us that we do NOT fight against flesh and blood (at least we’re not supposed to). The battle is spiritual and can only be won through Christ’s help.