Two Ways to Resist Temptation
Temptation is what the devil uses to draw Christians away for Jesus. He uses it to draw us away from God’s plan for our lives. Each one is drawn away by the desires they have for their own plan. James 1:14 says “…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” You have been habitually planning your life around your own desires then the Father chooses you. You want to hope these desires will be part of your plan or maybe you don’t even know what the plan is, so you continue living as you were. You have been revealed a Scripture to show you the desires of God for your life, but your desires are screaming louder than His, so you feed them.
It is a habit to feed your own desires. Your brain is wired to feed them. Your whole life is managed around feeding them. They are hungry, and you are the sole source of their food. Jesus is getting impatient. He is a jealous God and He wants you to feed His people. You have tried to starve them, but they scream louder for sustenance. You don’t want to starve them to death because you actually like them. Jesus can wait until tomorrow although He has already been waiting for years. How long do you think He will wait for you to resist those temptations to feed your desires?
He will let you live your own life, but you will not live a life worthy of your calling. You will not live, you will die. “When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:15) Resisting temptation is imperative to live. Everyone knows what unrepentant sins can do but it is not sinking in because resistance is not sinking in. Your brain needs to be rewired for these two ways to sink in. To rewire your brain you need to continually redirect your mind and continually redirect your body.
Way One: A Redirected Mind
The devil puts thoughts in your mind, but he isn’t the only one; you are good at it too. Your chooser muscles is weak because you have never worked it out before. Start building its muscle by making right choices using your mind first. When you begin making right choices you begin rewiring your brain toward these choices and the temptation flees. Redirecting your mind is possible but make sure your direction is a Biblical direction.
Believe God when He says it is possible. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 (Corinthians 10:4-6)
Way Two: A Redirected Body
The disobedience Paul is talking about is our body’s disobedience. Paul says, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection” (I Corinthians 9:27a). Paul doesn’t like to waste any time or energy submitting to God so he “fights not as one who is beating the air” (V26) and this is how we have to bring our body into subjection. Redirecting your body is possible but be sure your direction is a Biblical direction.
Believe God when He says your body is not your own. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Giving in to temptation is the easy way out but it makes for a harder life for longer and a bigger mess to clean up. The worst thing about giving in to temptation all the time is the loss of your soul. Jesus Himself said, “What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your soul?” (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25)
Practice redirecting your mind and redirecting your body into righteous acts by using a buzz word. Mine, back when I first started practicing this was, “STOP!” I would repeat it multiple times if I had to. Then, I would redirect my mind to something else (Philippians 4:8). I still have to do this today but not so much and my mind reacts quickly to one STOP. When resisting temptation becomes a habit your mind and your body will thank you.
