TAKE THAT DOOR, FRIEND!

He’s just trying to download a movie🤦🏽‍♂️. These ads aggressively flashing on his screen…these darn ads…he hates them! It’s not what he’s seeing that he hates. In fact, his eyes and the tickles in his phallus like what they see. This is his weakness, he knows! He’s not even that horny today🤷🏽‍♂️, he’s thinking to himself. His curiosity is pressing hard on his brains, but the other half is thinking about the gazillion times he’s promised himself and God that he won’t watch porn again. He wants this frustration to go away😩, but he doesn’t know how to make it. He’s wondering how long he can really hold out, whether he even can, and how much longer he has to deal with this problem. He’s thinking how likely it is that he’ll probably fall soon anyway, and so he clicks on the link.

PS: Before we continue, let me to clarify one thing: If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, the law of sin still reigns in your members [I explain that here], and so a lot of the things I’ll discuss here may not pan out for you in the same manner. This piece is for believers in whom the reign of sin has been broken by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anyhoo, Judah had been besieged by Babylon [I love it when we jump into scripture!😍]. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had ordered for strong, clever and handsome young Israelites to be camped and catered for in training to become his servants. As part of their training, these men were offered meat which were considered unclean by the Jews, and worse, had first been offered to the gods of Babylon. Daniel 1:8 says “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat…” Another version says he resolved in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s meat.

Daniel faced the temptation and took the stance outside the face of it.

Daniel was not vegan. On an ordinary day he’d shred that cow meat into unrecognizable pieces. So he must have been well aware how difficult resisting the smell of meat would be. And no, he was not replacing it with vegetarian substitutes😂. He was going solely on vegetables and water – for three whole years! Daniel knew it was going to be a struggle. And that was why he had to resolve first in his heart not to give in to his cravings.

Let’s twist the story briefly. Imagine that Daniel had not been intentional about not wanting to eat or drink the king’s portion. His resolve would have been off the hook on the first day. The aroma would have had nothing on him; the sight of the sweating wine glasses would have done little to him. But by the second or third week [mind you it was a 3-year program], if Daniel was anything like a regular human being, he would have had to reconsider this choice he had made – would he really be defiling himself?🤷🏽‍♀️ Did David not eat from the Lord’s sacred items from the Temple after all?🤷🏽‍♀️ Would God not understand?🤔 Every other Israelite was eating; was this really necessary?😩 It would have been a plethora of questions he would have had to swim his mind through…all in the face of the aroma and sight of what he was missing out on.

But before Daniel’s temptation came, he had decided on his answer to the question; and it was NO to defiling himself.

I could go into the resolve of his 3 other friends not to bow to the golden calf, but I’m working on not going on for too long in one piece🤭. Do imagine, though, how more pronounced the temptation would be if they left the decision whether or not to bow to the very last minute when the burning furnace was before their eyes.  They, like Daniel, had resolved in their hearts, even before the highest peak of the temptation reared its head, that they would never bow to the golden image set up by Nebuchadnezzar.

And then there’s the infamous Joseph; who would possibly have considered the prestigious position of being Mrs. Potiphar’s toy-boy😶, all the little favours he’d have enjoyed from that relationship if he had not purposefully thought it through before the temptation presented itself and purposed in his heart not to give in to it.

The point is this:

If you wait to take a decision whether or not to give in to the temptation in the face of the temptation, you’re more likely to give in to it than not.

Because the point of the temptation is that the said sin is something that attracts you in particular! It satisfies something that you actually want. And in the moment it presents itself, all your body and mind may see will be the benefits of giving in to its pleasure – even if it lasts for a split second! Your perspective is skewed, the sane voice in your head that would have allowed you to think through things properly gives way to the voice that urges you to consider the immense satisfaction you’re about to experience. And in that moment, if you have not already taken a clear decision about your stance on this thing, you definitely will choose that satisfaction over whatever other sensible reason you shouldn’t have.

Paul says in your struggle against sin, you have not resisted to the point of shedding your blood – Hebrews 12:4. Peter tells the church; by His divine power, He has given us all things we need for life and godliness –  2 Peter 1:3. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says no temptation has overtaken you that is unusual to man. But God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation, He will provide a way out, that you will be able to bear it.

God will not wave a magic wand over your head when you face a tempting situation. He won’t let the earth swallow you on your way to that place that ensnares you. You know how they say you win a battle in your mind before you do on the battleground?

It’s all essentially in your mind, and your ability to gather strength from all the help He has placed within you! Remember His work of grace and how He endured all temptation but never gave in. Remember how transient this is; remember His rich promises of a time when you will no longer fight these internal battles!

He has equipped you with a way out, and your means of accessing that way out is to purpose in your heart and mind not to give in. So while it’s not a lie that you’re human and you constantly have to fight temptation, giving in to it is a defeated mindset which despises the power of God which lies within you. Paul reminds Titus in Chapter 2:11-13:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people, teaching us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

You’re not helpless, friend. God always leaves a door open out of every temptation.

TAKE THAT DOOR, FRIEND!

Love,

Rad! 💖