Welcome to this seven-day devotional reading plan on fighting temptation. When you became a Christian, you may have thought your battle with temptation would get easier. But even the most mature Christians in the world still struggle with it! This reading plan will show you how to make a plan to resist temptation and find hope as you embrace God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to help fix your heart and mind on Christ.
Rick Warren/Daily Hope
Day 1
Scripture: James 1:14
Just a Nibble of Sin Will Get You Hooked
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.” James 1:14 (NLT)
For my dad, a day without fishing was a wasted day. No matter what was going on, he managed to go fishing for at least thirty minutes every day. As I watched my dad catch fish after fish (while I caught nothing), I quickly learned a valuable lesson—fish don’t bite bare hooks.
You can’t just throw a line with a hook out in the water and expect to catch fish. You have to put bait on the hook! And a good fisherman knows that different fish like different kinds of bait.
Just like a fisherman knows how to bait different kinds of fish, Satan knows just how to bait you. He knows what gets your attention. He knows exactly where your weak spot is—that unmet emotional need or deep desire.
That’s why you’ve got to think about what you’re thinking about. The hook is sin, but the bait is whatever lie Satan knows you’re vulnerable to: “If you do this, you’ll feel better. If you do this, it will be rewarding. If you do this, everything will be okay.”
Even when you know there’s a hook beneath the bait, you may still keep nibbling. Why? Because you think you can keep biting without getting hooked. But the idea that you won’t get hurt is another one of Satan’s deceptions.
One of the most common lies is that, whenever you’re tempted, something outside yourself has tempted you. But the real problem is not external. James 1:14 says, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away” (NLT).
Temptation starts with our inner desires—those vulnerable spots Satan uses for bait. Those desires lead to sinful actions, and those actions lead to death. What you think determines how you feel, and what you feel determines how you act.
Don’t get in the habit of blaming your circumstances. When you’re tempted, you may think you can’t help it. You can help it! It starts by changing the way you think.
When you’re tempted, stop and ask the question, “What lie am I believing?” Then replace it with God’s truth. It will always lead to life.
Day 2
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Trying to Overcome Temptation on Your Own?
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT)
Do you keep stumbling over the same temptation? Maybe it’s related to jealousy, worry, lust, gossip, or gluttony. Whatever it is, you won’t have victory over a persistent temptation if you try to overcome it by yourself.
The Bible says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each othersucceed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who fallsalone is in real trouble” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT).
God made us to need each other, because he knows that we’re better together. We’re better when we serve together, when we worship together, when we grieve together, when we fellowship together—and when we fight temptation together.
Who’s helping you fight temptation? Who’s checking up on you? Who have you invited to help you grow spiritually? Who do you allow to ask you the tough questions? Who are you checking up on?
You don’t have to tell everybody about the temptations you struggle with, but you do need to tell somebody. That person can support you and help you overcome your struggles.
When someone says, “I’ve never told this to anybody before . . .,” be quick to listen and pay attention, because it may mean they are taking the first step toward freedom.
Remember this: Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. Talking about your temptations is one way you overcome them.
How serious are you about changing? Wouldn’t you like to come out of this season of your life with a stronger faith, having overcome a persistent temptation? Why not reach out to a friend who can hold you accountable?
There may be some bad habits in your life you’re just not going to get over until you get support from a committed friend. Find that person, and then be that person for someone else.
Day 3
Scripture: Psalms 119:112
How to Fight Temptation, Step-By-Step
“I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what.” Psalm 119:112 (CEV)
When people feel ineffective or defeated in life, it’s often because they don’t know how to fight the battle going on in their minds. They don’t realize that temptation involves a process; it’s not an isolated act. And even though it’s a process, that process can happen quickly in just four steps.
Step one is desire. God gave you the desire to drink, sleep, eat, and have sex, and there is nothing wrong with those desires. But temptation turns a natural desire into a runaway desire. It becomes more important than other things, and it’s all you can think about.
Step two is doubt—about God, his Word, and his love. Doubt happens anytime you’re wondering, “Well, I know the Bible says this, but did God really mean this applies to sex [or food or whatever]?” You start to doubt if you can trust God and his Word.
Step three is deception. You start believing a lie. Satan knows your weaknesses. He knows what will get your attention and move you from desire to doubt to deception.
Step four is disobedience and defeat. This is when your temptation becomes a sin. What got your attention turns into attraction, and attraction becomes an attitude, and the attitude becomes an action. Temptation is not a sin—action is.
The Bible explains it this way: “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15 NLT).
You’re free to choose what you think about in life. But you are not free from the consequences of your choices. That’s why the best time to win the battle of your mind is before it starts. Psalm 119:112 explains it this way: “I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what” (CEV).
Have you made up your mind to obey God’s Word, no matter what? Resolve today to recognize temptation and turn away from it before it goes a step further.
Day 4
Scripture: Psalms 50:15
Call on God in the Face of Temptation
“Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you.” Psalm 50:15 (NLT)
Sometimes you’re going to need an “emergency plan” for temptation. When you get in a situation where you’re tempted and you don’t know what to do, you need to cry out to God.
If you’re facing a temptation and you start to panic because you feel the adrenaline rushing through your body, then you won’t have time for a long conversation with God.
Instead, you can just do what I call a “microwave prayer,” and it’s one word: Help! You tell God, “This is not where I want to be right now, and I’m about to step across the line. I need your help right now.”
Of course, he knows what’s going on. So, when all you can do is cry out for help, God will hear your prayer, and he will intervene.
You can know he will help you because the Bible says, “Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you” (Psalm 50:15 NLT).
Cry out to God. When you do, he helps you because he’s sympathetic to your situation. The Bible says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT).
Did Jesus ever struggle with anger? Yes. Did Jesus ever wrestle with loneliness? Yes. Did Jesus ever deal with sex and sexuality? Yes. Was he ever tempted by fatigue and discouragement? Yes. How? Because even though he’s God, he was God in a fully human body. Jesus became a man and experienced everything we would so that he could intercede for us before God.
Jesus faced the same temptations we do, so we can expect him to help us when we cry out to him. And we don’t have to feel shame because his grace sustains us: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).
That is a great comfort—and it is the power to change. Just tell God you need his help!
Day 5
Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:11
Your Temptation Emergency Plan
“Run from all these evil things.” 1 Timothy 6:11 (NLT)
Do you have an emergency plan for getting away when you’re tempted? Do you have preventative strategies to help you stay away from your biggest temptations?
If you don’t have those things, you need them now!
The Bible is clear about what that emergency plan is: You run. When you find yourself tempted, you need a panic button, an escape route.
First Timothy 6:11 says, “Run from all these evil things” (NLT).
The Bible says you need to move quickly out of any situation that causes you temptation. Never argue with a temptation. You’ll always lose. Emotions will take over, and emotions aren’t always logical.
No matter the temptation, you have to get away. It could be a temptation to cheat in business. It could be a sexual temptation. But your response should be the same: Get out.
But even better than running from temptation is to prevent temptation in the first place. Another way to say that is this: If you don’t want to get stung, stay away from the bees.
Years ago, when I was a youth minister, I’d tell kids, “Don’t decide in the back seat of a car that you’re going to be sexually pure and save yourself for marriage. Hormones will kick in, and you’ll be overwhelmed.” You must make a preventative strategy in advance and not put yourself in the tempting situation.
The same principles apply throughout life.
If you know you get short-tempered with your children when you’re tired, develop a preventative strategy. Set an earlier bedtime for your kids or schedule some quiet time for everyone during the part of the day that’s most difficult for you.
Day 6
Scripture: Romans 8:2
What It Means to Have Holy Spirit Power
“The power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death.” Romans 8:2 (TLB)
None of us are immune to persistent sins. Some people struggle with anger, while others wrestle with worry or gossip or lust.
How do you break free from persistent sin?
You understand what Jesus has done for you. On the cross, Jesus paid for the penalty of your sins, so you don’t have to pay for it. All of your sins—even the ones you haven’t committed yet—have been paid for on the cross.
Jesus not only paid for your sin, but he also paid to break the power of sin in your life. Now you have a power you didn’t have before—the power to say no to sin. It’s more than willpower. It’s Holy Spirit power!
The Bible says in Romans 8:2, “The power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death”(TLB).
If you’re a Christian, you know Jesus died to pay for your sin. That’s the Good News. And if that was all there was, that would still be the best news in the world.
But when he died on the cross, Jesus also took your old sin nature and gave you a new nature, one that no longer has to live in persistent sin. The Bible teaches, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6 NLT).
Sin no longer has any power in your life. A dead person can’t be tempted! That old nature can’t be tempted, and since it died with Christ, you can be confident that you also share in his new life.
Willpower will never be enough to break the power of sin in your life. But thanks to Jesus, you have more than enough power in the Holy Spirit to resist temptation and break “the vicious circle of sin and death.”
Day 7
Scripture: Colossians 1:13
You’ve Got the Power of Christ
“He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son.” Colossians 1:13 (GNT)
On the cross, Jesus destroyed Satan’s power to control your mind, your life, and your destiny. When Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30 NIV), Satan should have said, “I’m finished.” His days are numbered!
Jesus has won the victory over death and Satan. But if you don’t have the power of Christ in your life, then you are defenseless against the devil. Satan can manipulate your emotions, mess with your mind, and get you addicted to all kinds of stuff. You are powerless without Christ!
Satan has two favorite tools: temptation and condemnation.
With temptation, he minimizes sin: It’s no big deal! Everybody does it! You know what will make you happy more than God does! Satan doesn’t have to speak out loud. He just puts ideas in your mind.
Then, the moment you do that particular sin, Satan reverses strategy with condemnation. Instead of minimizing the sin, he maximizes it: You did that! Are you kidding me? God will never love you again. It’s over. God can never use you. That is so big that you could never ever be forgiven for it.
First, Satan tempts you. Then, he condemns you. See his strategy? He minimizes sin before you do it and maximizes it afterward.
On the cross, when Jesus said, “It is finished,” he defeated temptation and condemnation. Jesus destroyed temptation’s power, giving you the power to resist it: “He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13 GNT).
Jesus’ death and resurrection were a fatal blow to Satan.
If you have Jesus Christ in your life, then Satan has zero power over you except in the areas that you choose to give him. When you give in to Satan’s temptation, you give him a foothold in your life.
But with God’s power in your life, Satan can’t harm you. You are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3 GNT), and you are protected. You don’t have to listen to Satan. You have the power to say no.
Don’t wait until you’re faced with a morally questionable deal to decide that your business will be above reproach. Build accountability into your business plan to help prevent you from being tempted in the moment.
Take time today to develop preventative strategies for temptation. And when those don’t work out, have your emergency plan: Don’t resist temptation—run from it. That’s the simplest and surest way out.