Defeating Temptation...God is on Your Side!!!

As Christians, each one of has as a particular sin that we struggle with more than others. And, a lot of the time, it can cause a lot of stress every time we slip up.

Then, we slip into a sadness asking, “How could God possibly forgive me? I keep messing up!”

For the longest time, I also struggled with this. I just kept messing up over and over again, and other people have told me they’ve done the same.

Let me tell you, your mind can be a huge thing to overcome. But, I believe that to grow, you must defeat it!

One thing as Christians that we have to learn to do is to think logically. Acting on emotions alone will get you nowhere. At some point, you must pause and realize these facts:

1. You’re human-therefore, you’re imperfect. (Romans 3:10-12)

2. You’re not the only one who struggles with sin. (1^st Corinthians 10:13)

3. Your God is bigger, greater, and stronger than you and your sin. (1^st Corinthians 10:13, Philippians 4:13, 2^nd Corinthians 12:9, Ephesians 3:16)

I think that often, we forget why Jesus died on the cross. He died to save us from our sins so that we wouldn’t have to be chained to them. He died so we wouldn’t have to be separated from God for eternity.

Isn’t that something to rejoice about?

One thing that so many of us fail to do is to think logically. Part of being a Christian is to look at things in a logical way. We have to realize that we aren’t perfect, but God loves us anyway and is going to forgive us.

The more we participate in negative self-talk to ourselves, the worse our problem is going to become. You get to a point of subconsciously thinking, “Why even bother trying to stop? It’s not like I’m going to get any stronger.”

When you do this, you shut God out of your life. You forget how powerful and good He is, and focus simply on your own shortcomings. You should feel strengthened knowing that God is on your side and can help you overcome what you’re dealing with.

When you sin, you can’t allow it to rot in your mind over and over again. You must ask for forgiveness, repent, then stand up, dust yourself off, and move on. Then, you must pray and ask God to help you do better next time. You know what, God is faithful-He will never let you down. (Hebrews 3:6)

Ask God to help you see what certain triggers are for you that lead to sin. When you can do that, you’ll better be able stand firm and prevent yourself from slipping. Satan is very tricky and uses lots of cunning methods to sneak his way in and make you fall. You must be on your guard (1^st Peter 5:8).

Remember, God is not going to leave you (Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:9). We must not let our emotions get in the way of remembering that.