| Temptation never comes out of our dislikes. My own definition for temptation is ‘desired but unrighteous’. You can never be tempted by what you dislike. The Devil makes a usual visit to view the zeal we place on the things of the world before he sets before us temptation. Temptation doesn’t just come, it comes when we place our interest on the things desired but unrighteous. He entices us with the things he knows we hardly do away with.
I have come across so many Christians who are said to have repented but still find themselves doing that which is desired but unrighteous within a wink of an eye. The fact that we are tired of sin doesn’t grant us an exit from the sinful world. Although we can be tired westill find ourselves doing it. Overcoming the gluey temptation requires strategies that negate the wishes of the flesh. ‘…make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof’ (Romans 13:14) We can’t place the mirror before the sun and expect it to reflect the moon. And in the same cline, we can’t live in the dome of impurity and expect our thoughts to portray purity. There are gatherings meant for sinners and there are gatherings meant for saints. If not, the Psalmist won’t tell us to ‘walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of the sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful’. The nature of our body is being synthesized in a way that is sensitive to whatever we are surrounded with, that’s why we need to be very careful when it comes to people we commune with. The scripture says ‘as iron sharpeneth iron, so as man sharpeneth another’. The shape of our thoughts is sometimes distorted by the things fed into our sight, ear and to our feelings. ‘do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good habits’ 1 Corinthians 15:33 Perhaps you are still confused about falling into the same temptation over and over again after so much counseling and deliverance. Overcoming the gluey temptation is not only the effort of counseling and deliverance but it is the accomplishment of strategies crowned and governed by divine grace. GRACE can be simply defined as the ACQUISITION of a POSITION that even your QUALIFICATION does not meet in all RAMIFICATION. So when your strategies are seasoned with divine grace, then the gluey temptation becomes history. Martin Luther said ‘you can’t keep the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair’ YES! You can’t shut your eyes while walking in town but you can shut your mind from cogitating on what your eyes see. It’s all about principle! It’s a principle sprung up by a heart that truly hates sin. LOOK AT THESE: ‘a man who is truly tired of masturbating is not expected to keep the record of porn sites’ what for? ‘a just-repented harlot doesn’t have any excuse for exposing her cleavage’ what for? ‘a man who is truly tired of adultery is not expected to fill ‘single’ in any form’ what for? It’s all about principle crowned and governed by divine grace. ‘Temptation ceases to be overcome except our zeal reflects nil’. Now the question is ‘are you truly tired of that sin’? If yes ‘are you ready to negate the wishes of your flesh’? If yes ‘stay tunned till next week’ BOTTOM LINE: Ask God to make you a spirit-driven soul and not a flesh- driven soul. You are blessed! -A.O.D. Oluwafemi |
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