God’s Promise: “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.” Jude 1:24 NLT
God created us with the free will of choice. Adam and Eve were given the command, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 3 16).
“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. We disagree with God regarding the condition of our hearts [our minds]. When was the last time you admitted that your heart was wicked? Maybe never. Christians have the tendency to blame falling into sin on Satan. Yet, we willingly fall into temptation by following the sinful desires of our hearts and disobeying God.
God’s Warning: “For we do not wrestle [fight] against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the Heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Satan is not Omniscient [All-knowing], but He and his evil angels observe our behaviors. Many children and teenagers are involved in deviant behaviors because their parents or caregivers do not pay attention to their activities or the people they interact with. The worldly conversations, the programs with sex and profanity, and the immodest clothing are easily seen by the evil one.
God’s Promise: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Memory: I can recall overhearing my coworkers having a conversation about going to a restaurant with a separate bar for an after-work drink on Friday to relax and start the weekend off right. About 30 minutes later, they sent over a shy and passive co-worker who knew that I was a Christian but said to me, “Oh, we’re going on Friday to a restaurant after work just to get together.” I responded with a smile, “No, thank you.”
The consequence of declining their offer was isolation. No more greetings of good morning, random chit chats, or eating lunch together. Yet, God provided. A male coworker said to me, “Sonya, I know what happened and if you need assistance, just ask me. He always said, Good Morning.” The walk with Christ always causes separation from unbelievers. Yet, obedience has its rewards–peace, joy, and the assurance of eternal life.
God’s Promise: “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you Victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)
Our Responsibility: Even when Satan attempts to use people who appear non-threatening to tempt us, we have immediate access to the Holy Spirit by praying a silent prayer for guidance. Yes, we can always walk away from temptation and pray for the Holy Spirit to anoint us, who gives us wisdom and spiritual discernment.
Human effort plus Divine Intervention equals Victory!
Our Responsibility: We acknowledge that we are always responsible for falling into temptation and committing grievous sins against God. Practice telling others, “No, thank you.” Remember, God can never fail! Jesus paid the price through His death to protect us from the traps of temptation and redeem us from the end that sin promises.
Prayer: God, we thank you for the spiritual protection you have blessed us with. Help us to rely on the Holy Spirit and our sound minds to resist and say no to Satan’s snares of temptation. We ask this prayer in the Worthy Name of Jesus. Amen.
Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions 