Yeah… listen I know I said that we’d finish the dating and marriage series this year, but God had other plans! We will finish that series, but, this is just a minor detour. I know I was supposed to give you guys an article last week, but recovering from being ill was a bust. Next thing I knew, my eyes were wiggin’ out and my brain wasn’t feeling to good from over stressing about catching up on all I missed. So… yeah. I’m sorry, this year end blogging didn’t go as planned, but hopefully, you all will still enjoy! So, let’s get into fighting temptation.
What Is Temptation?
We’ve heard the devil tempts and God sends us through trials. We knowwww. But what exactly is temptation? Is it just a strong desire to sin? Or is it something a little deeper? Here are my top three definitions of temptation:
- Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals. (via Wikipedia)
- Temptation: the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. (Oxford Languages)
- Solicitation of the passions; enticements to evil proceeding from the prospect of pleasure or advantage. (KJV Dictionary)
Now, the first two definitions I really like, they’re just dictionary definitions. However, the third one is most closely associated with this article as far as the Biblical sense. When I look at the first two, I still see accuracy, but there’s one thing I’d change that the third and Biblical definition tackled so well: desire.
Temptation itself is not a desire. A desire is a strong feeling for something. But a temptation, is like luring one into a desire. So, let’s use a basic one: chocolate. You are a person who loves chocolate, but you are also someone who has diabetes and you know that chocolate is not good for you. And so, you’re in the kitchen, and there’s a bowl of candy filled with chocolate. You desire to have a piece of chocolate, and when someone comes by and asks you to open their piece of chocolate they can’t get open, you’re tempted to get your own. Why? Because there’s a desire already there, burning for a piece of chocolate.
Root of Temptation
We just concluded that temptation feeds off the desires of your heart. Which is why it’s so important to curve the desires of your heart. You must desire what God desires, because if you don’t, you are easily tempted to fulfill your own desires.
A desire is the root of temptation. So you must be planted in a solid foundation in order to have your desire rooted in something that can’t be tempted. Being rooted in Christ means you’ll give the devil a black eye every time, because Jesus defeated temptation.
So why then do we fail?
Because our spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
We desire the Kingdom and God’s will, but our flesh is so weak to the world, we often give into the temptation. And it’s also a matter of what you want to do. Do you really want to pay those tithes today? Do you really want to be the only person who doesn’t vote for the really popular candidate? Do you really want to stand for God, and be laughed at by the world?
We also give into temptation because we are not filling our spirits.
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he
Provers 23:7 AMP
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Ephesians 5:18
I used the two scriptures above because the root of temptation lies in our desires as I’ve said before. And our desires come from our heart, and our heart must be filled with the things of God. Let’s look at the second verse first, Ephesians 5:18.
Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery-meaning getting drunk with wine is indulging in sensual pleasures, in excess-but be filled with the Spirit. So instead of filling ourselves with wine, instead of feeding our fleshly desires, we in turn must feed our beings with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit who knows God. Which means, being filled with the Holy Spirit is constantly being filled with God, so temptation is far from us.
Looking at Proverbs 23:7, we see that what we think in our heart is actually who we are. So here’s two things about this verse; when we think, we actually think with our heart. Whatever we’re dwelling on, is really sitting on our hearts. Our mind and heart are connected, that’s why it’s so important to think on things above and not below. Because this leads me to point two: whatever we are thinking on, that’s who we are. So if you’re always thinking about sex, you’re always going to tell dirty jokes. You’re always going to watch porn and sex scenes. You’re not going to keep your body pure. Because that’s who you are.
Let’s use me as an example. I’m a writer. I pen books. Recently, I wrote two full length novels (one is 55k+ words, the other is almost 80k+ words), in three weeks. Writing two books, a standalone and one apart of a series (won’t be released until 2023), is no easy feat, and writing them together was very difficult. All day long, I was engulfed in my work. Being these characters, seeing these situations, and experiencing the feelings of my characters.
So who did I become? In my heart, I loved writing. I thought about the stories, how to proceed, the characters, the development, the settings. Who I became, with my heart focused on my writing, is A. Bean. Because, so you think in your heart, that’s who you are. Being a Christian and a Christian Author is who I am because that’s all I think about, that’s all I do. **If you missed it, A. Bean is not my real name;)**
How to Overcome Temptation
Alright, we’ve looked at a lot of things, but we haven’t looked at how to fight temptation. I’m going to tell you plainly how to overcome temptation.
Speaking the Word.
That’s it. That’s how you fight. But, you’ve got to know the Word to speak it.
And, if you know the Word, then you know the Holy Spirit who gives us interpretation and the meaning of the Word.
Since you know the Holy Spirit, you know God.
In knowing God, you must go through the Son, Jesus, the living Word.
So now, you’re undefeatable because you’re equipped to beat temptation that Jesus beat before we ever existed. Dwelling in Christ, allows Him to dwell in us. And with Christ in us, every dark temptation and spirit becomes defeated because Jesus conquered darkness, death, and all evil forces.
Do you get it now? That whole break down, is simply just from opening your Bible, and reading it. You may wonder, well how?
How can it just be reading the Word?
Because Jesus is our example. Jesus knew the Word, and spoke it back at Satan, solidifying His unbreakable Spirit.
Closing
So, I actually was supposed to do something totally different with this post, but let’s make this a two part blog. We’ll finish it before the New Year, so we can head into the New Year equipped with a way to fight temptation. Part two will be shorter, because it’s just going to be a break down of Jesus’ temptation. A modern day look at how Satan still uses those three temptations from way back in the Biblical days to trick the world today.
Let’s chat soon, okay?
