Three Steps to Overcoming Temptation
Do you struggle overcoming temptation in your fight against sin? We all have those “pet” sins we just can’t seem to overcome no matter how hard we try. The first problem we often face is trying to overcome temptations in our own strength. We are relying on our flesh, rather than the truth of God’s Word. The second issue, if we are honest, is finding too much gratification those sins. But God does not desire for us to live defeatedly. Through the power of His Word, we can overcome temptation.
Introduction
The best example we have for overcoming temptation is found in the life of Christ. We see this displayed for us in the fourth chapter of Matthew. Jesus had just spent the previous forty days fasting and communing with His Father in the wilderness. No doubt, He was weary and hungry. Satan saw this as the perfect opportunity to entrap the Savior in his enticing web of deceit.
The devil often comes to us when we have reached the point of utter exhaustion. He knows when we are in our most vulnerable state and uses it to his advantage. Another strategy he uses is approaching us after we have achieved a great spiritual victory in our lives. We are often less guarded during these times and more susceptible to defeat. Being aware of his tactics will enable us to better overcome his power in our lives.
Matthew 4:1-4, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Three times Satan tempts Christ. And each time Jesus responds with, “it is written.” Jesus uses the truth of God’s Word to combat the lies and trickery of the devil. He responded with the Word because He knew the Word, but more importantly, because He is the Word (John 1:1). There is no greater resource we have in our arsenal than the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). Nothing silences Satan faster than truth.
As believers, we are in a constant battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Overcoming temptation in our lives requires three necessary steps as we fight against this continual attack.
Safeguard our hearts and minds by taking every thought captive
When I was a child, we went mining for gemstones. Each person poured a vast assortment of rocks into a screened tray. Most of these rocks were worthless debris. Running the sieve through water, we discarded the sand and other insignificant rocks. We chose to keep only those stones which were beautiful and precious.
Thousands of thoughts run through our minds on a daily basis. We must sort through them and remove the impure, unwholesome, and untrue thoughts. We must not allow our minds to dwell on these things. Every thought that enters our mind needs to pass through the sieve of God’s Word. He has given us the “whatsoever” test in Philippians 4:8:
Whatsoever is true…whatsoever is honest…whatsoever is just…whatsoever is pure…whatsoever is lovely…whatsoever is of good report…
Thoughts that do not pass through this test should be captured and brought into captivity and to the obedience of Christ.
II Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
The battle we are fighting is not a physical one, but rather, a spiritual one. We cannot use physical means to fight spiritual warfare. As Christians, we become an instrument of the devil when we are not living spirit-filled lives. Paul commands us to be spiritually minded (Rom. 8:5-7). The key to becoming a mature Christian is having a mindset that is spirit-filled. Avoiding temptation first begins with safeguarding every thought which enters our minds.
Saturate our hearts and minds with the Word of God
Have you ever tried to squeeze a dried-out sponge? It is not very flexible, and nothing is going to come out of it. However, if you soak it in a bowl of water, the sponge softens, and water pours out when it is squeezed. When the cares and pressures of this life start squeezing us, our heart hardens if we have not been filling it with the truth of God’s Word.
We are about as useful to the Lord as a dry sponge when we are not daily soaking up the truth of His Word. We cannot keep our hearts clean from sin with dried out sponges. When we soak up the truth, it keeps our hearts soft and free from sin.
Psalm 119:11 says,
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
The best way to keep sin out of our lives is to be filled with the Word of God.
Satan knows and uses God’s Word. Sadly, he is more craftily skilled in its use than the majority of Christians. We cannot win against the devil if we do not know the Scriptures. He takes the very words of God and cunningly twists them in order to defeat us. The devil uses our own offensive weapon against us. He uses the very weapon with which we are supposed to defeat him and entraps us in his snare.
Satan never uses God’s Word at face value. He takes an element of truth and adds his lies to confuse us. The most dangerous lies are those closest to the truth.
This should not discourage us, but it should motivate and challenge us. It should motivate us in our own personal study of God’s Word, as well as challenge us to memorize and meditate upon the truths of Scripture. The more we saturate our lives with Scripture, the more equipped we will be against his devices. The best way to spot a counterfeit is to study the authentic. We don’t need to be well-versed in his lies, but rather in the truth of God’s Word.
When we are filling our hearts with the Word of God, there will be less room for sin. When our thoughts are right, then our actions will be right. Sometimes we can cover up what is on the inside by looking good on the exterior. However, ultimately, what is in our hearts will come out. In order for God to use us, we must first start by dealing with our heart attitudes.
Paul Chappell said,
“Any good thing that happens with God must start with our hearts.”
A heart that is saturated with Scripture will be well-equipped for overcoming temptation and will be one that is motivated to live pleasing to the Lord.
Seek God’s Protection through Prayer
Just before going to the cross, Jesus took His disciples to the garden to pray. He knew His time was drawing nigh. And He needed strength from the Father for what He was about to face. He entreated His disciples to pray so that they would not fall prey to lurking enemy. Sadly, they did not utilize this opportunity, and thus fled when they were tempted to deny Christ.
Matthew 26:40-41,
“And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
When Jesus returned to His disciples, He entreated them to “watch and pray.” The word “watch” means to be on guard or alert. But here, it also includes the implication of staying awake. How often do we skip out on sleep in order to commune with our Father? Perhaps if we did, we would be less susceptible to temptation. We receive protection from the wiles of the devil and the strength to overcome through prayer.
In his attempt to tempt Jesus, Satan quotes from Psalm 91. This is a prophetic Messianic psalm. It is a portrayal of our Lord and Saviour, but also pictured for us God’s divine protection and deliverance. It is interesting to note that Satan leaves out a critical part when quoting this psalm. Satan says,
“He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy food against a stone” (Matt. 4:6).
Psalm 91:11-12 says,
“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
“He left out the words, “in all thy ways.” The Lord Jesus Christ came to do the Father’s will, and that meant to walk in all His ways. He would have stepped out of the will of God if He had attempted to make the stones into bread, or if He had accepted the kingdoms of the world from Satan, or if He had cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. To do any of that would have been out of the way of God” (J. Vernon McGee).
Closing thoughts…
Proverbs 3:6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”
The only way we are going to successful at overcoming temptation is to continually commit our way to Him and acknowledge Him in everything we do. As we live our lives yielded to God, He will give us the power and protection to overcome temptation.
May we seek to live everyday yielded to His will!
