Last week, I pointed you to three verse to meditate on during those sleepless nights. One reason, I believe, it is vital to get plenty of rest is because we become more susceptible to temptation when our body is weak.
When we are weak we tend to give into our flesh and its desires. For me, I say this as I am writing at 12:30 in the morning, I tend to be crabby with my kids. I have a shortened attention span. I am short on patience aka, I have none and I make short rash decisions for the sake of having a peaceful mind. Being extra tired means quiet time leads to sleeping and not praying and studying.
For many other reasons, we fall into temptation. Greed, pride, envy, sensuality, foolishness, popularity, and the list goes on. Our flesh is weak and it is easier to follow the trends of this world than going against the norm by following Jesus.
Today, we will put 4 verses into our arsenal for battling temptation. I hope you are ready.
Be Alert
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
While Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He told His disciples to stay alert. He also told them to stay awake and pray. He knew they were about to be tempted in ways they could not overcome themselves and He wanted them to pray for strength so they would be prepared.
When we are tired, we lose focus, we are not able to stay awake to do what is necessary to fight temptation. Like the disciples, it means losing out on time to pray.
Pursue Holiness
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11 (NIV)
Another area of temptation is money. We have to admit, we like to be comfortable. In fact, most of us like to be beyond comfortable and would prefer to have such an abundance of money that we “think” we would never have to worry about money again.
Let me ask you a couple questions. How much would enough be? What would you do with enough?
Remember when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, He took Him to the top of the mountain and said, “I will give you all the kingdoms of the world if you will bow down and worship me.” He offered Him more than enough. But at what cost?
In verse 10, Paul says money is the root of all kind of evil. He doesn’t say money is evil but the root of evil. Evil can grow from it in so many ways.
In verse 11, he encourages Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
By putting your trust in God, you have what is eternal. By putting your trust in money, you only have what is fleeting.
Treasure His Word
Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NASB)
I love this verse. I cannot tell you how many times, I have been convicted by God’s Word. That doesn’t sound too appealing, does it? Hide God’s Word in your heart so those verses can come to you when you are doing something completely wrong. Eek!
But honestly, I want to know the right way to live. I think we all do. I think we are on a pursuit to make this world better and ideally, all of us would take the platform on world peace.
When we struggle, of course, we don’t want someone pointing to our flaws. We want to revel in them for a moment. But in the end, we know that is not right living.
Right living begins with knowing what is right and treasuring that truth, God’s Word, in our hearts. Oh, that I might not sin against my Lord!
God is Faithful
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (BSB)
We must be careful to think we are above sin. As if we have some sort of super cape under our clothes and sin and temptation flee at our sight.
Pride is a very dangerous position to put ourselves in. We say things like, I would never…, and that could not happen to me and my family. In the process, of putting our invincibility shield on, we abandon the things that God teaches us in His Word.
In verse 12, Paul warns us to be careful to think that we are standing too firm so that we don’t fall. Any firm standing needs to be in God’s faithfulness and not in our own righteousness.
The encouragement that Paul gives us is that if we do fall, God is faithful to provide for us a way out of the temptation and even if it causes us to bend, it will not break us.
God is not only faithful to help us endure temptation, He is Faithful to complete all the good work He started in us. Lean in and Hold on.
Temptations will come our way. We can remember these four things to help us battle through them.
Be alert.
Pursue holiness.
Treasure God’s Word in your heart.
God IS faithful.
Personal Reflections:
Do you find yourself putting God on the back burner when you are tired? When you are giving into temptation do you look for correction?
How much money is enough? How do you know when you have gotten there? What is the next step with enough?
What is a quick tip you have for hiding God’s Word in your heart?
What comes to mind when you think of the words, God Is Faithful?
I am glad you are here. I would love for you to join us at Seeking God Daily. Because a couple friends and I are passionate about sharing God’s Word we have joined forces to bring together a Facebook Group called Seeking God Daily.
Seeking God Daily is a group that offers hope, encouragement, and support in learning God’s Word and applying the truths to our walk with Christ.
We want to encourage one another through authentic, honest and respectful conversation as we earnestly seek Him daily.Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
This week and next you will get to meet the ladies behind this new adventure. You can join this group by clicking HERE! While you are there feel free to invite some friends along for the journey. We would love to have them!
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Thanks, Jaime, for keeping it real here and also keeping it centered on the Word of God. We are blessed!
Authentic conversation about God's Word is a must for me. I feel not having those discussions leads us to thinking the Bible is anything but real. SO glad you are here, friend!
Awesome work that not only is interesting but worth of read. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. I am glad to hear that people enjoy their time here and it is well spent. That is very encouraging to me.
You and Jennifer Dukes Lee are writing on similar topics today. GOD'S MESSAGE FOR NOW.
I had a ton more to write on this topic but for the sake of time and space (you know how that goes) I had to end it here. This is a very real topic and one that we all face in a very real way. Love that, God's Message for Now! Certainly is!
Jaime battling temptation can be so very hard, but with our eyes on Christ it doesn't have to be! He has already given us all we need to over come! Great post, and link up!
Good to see you today, Jennifer! You are right, eyes focused on Christ helps us battle temptation. The hard part is there are so many things battling for our attention and our eyes. I hope this list helps. Have a blessed week and thanks for sharing here!
Thank you for sharing these key verses and your wonderful insights on battling temptation, Jaime. I especially love what you've said about pride and our need to be alert to how that dulls our senses. We don't think we are as weak as we really are and the next thing you know, we've fallen prey to that temptation! I appreciate your wise words here each week and am thankful for the linkup, my friend!
It is so very real and I think we have to be prepared and realize we are susceptible to it leading to sin that may feel inescapable. I love that God gives us a way out and we don't have to fall away. He is faithful. Thanks as always for joining us. I love your insight and wisdom.
I need my sleep and when I don't get it, I'm not nice to be around. Thank you for the reminders to rest and watch out for temptations.
Blessings friend!
Writing nights are hard for me. I am with you friend, I am not nice to be around the next day. I think I finally finished this post about 3:30 am. Wednesdays are tough. Life doesn't wait for you to get up, it starts early. This week especially, I had my sisters kiddos over. Yikes! Functioning with kids after four hours of sleep. Then I have to fight those temptations to be crabby overtime. I find writing at night, I get my best work done, so what's a girl to do?
Beautiful words and something that I need to remember when I am tempted with things. Thanks for the words.
Thanks for hosting and I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend.
It is so true that we are weak when tired and more prone to falling prey to temptation. Hungry, angry, lonely, tired, and stressed. I do a little self-assessment daily with these five points and if my score is high I know right away that I need be on the alert to the enemy's tactics.
Thanks Jamie!
Patti