Fight or flight: when temptation comes knocking on our door, what is the proper response? In this reading plan, we will look at how to identify the areas of sin that keep tripping us up, the role that our faith community must play in overcoming habitual sin, and what our response should be when we see a brother or sister in Christ struggling with sin.
OnThe3rdDay
Day 1
Scriptures: Proverbs 18:10, Psalms 91:1-2, 1 John 1:9
The Lord is a Strong Tower
As the years go by and I continue to walk with Jesus, it has become more evident to me the areas where I am most likely to encounter temptation that leads to sin. I guess you have 2-3 major areas in your life that keep tripping you up. So what can we do to fight back against these areas that feel like quicksand that keeps trying to pull us under no matter how hard we try to escape?
In the presence of our loving Savior, the Holy Spirit will help us identify these areas of weakness. He is our “strong tower,” and we are safe when we run to Him. Once the Holy Spirit brings our sin into the light, we are free to confess how we have fallen short. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Today, I encourage you to carve out time in a quiet space alone with Jesus. If you are able, kneel before him in a posture of surrender. In this place, ask Him a straightforward question – “Lord, please reveal to me the areas of my life where I am most often prone to sin.” Then, sit in silence for as long as it takes for Him to speak. I promise you He will meet you right where you are in that place.
Day 2
Scriptures: James 5:16, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 27:17
Temptation and the Role of Community
In the presence of our Lord, we can safely identify 2-3 major areas in our life where we are most prone to sin. This revelation can be upsetting, making it tempting to lock up these areas of our life so that no one ever finds out who we are and what we struggle with. However, this is incredibly dangerous!
Our temptation and sin must be brought into the light of Jesus in a community of spiritual friends who can love and support us on our journey to becoming like Jesus. I am not suggesting that you have to share your areas of struggle with every person you meet. However, we all need a small group of trusted friends who can keep us accountable. Openly discussing our areas of temptation and confessing our sins to each other is healthy and keeps us from isolating and compartmentalizing our sins. Any temptation we allow to remain in the darkness will grow into habitual sin and eventually lead to spiritual death.
If you already have a few trusted friends, are you regularly meeting with them to confess your sins and to give them access to speak truth into your life? If you don’t have this kind of relationship, begin praying today that Jesus would bring someone into your life with whom you can openly share your areas of temptation and sin. We were never meant to live our spiritual lives in isolation.
Day 3
Scriptures: Galatians 6:1, Luke 6:41, Colossians 3:12, Romans 8:1
Pursuing Those Who Have Fallen With a Spirit of Gentleness
We are so quick to condemn a brother or sister who has fallen into temptation and sin, forgetting that we have been forgiven of our sins – past, present, and future – by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
As we practice the discipline of solitude and silence, we create space for Jesus to reveal our many layers of sin, helping us to clearly see the log in our own eye before attempting to remove the speck in someone else’s eye. In community, we faithfully meet with others to confess our sins. Compassion, not condemnation, is born when solitude and community are practiced together. The kind of compassion that leads us to go to the one who has fallen with a “spirit of gentleness,” leading them back into a right relationship with Jesus. Our pursuit of the one who has fallen should be a rescue mission, not a march to throw stones at those caught in sin.
However, in our zeal to go, we often overlook Paul’s warning – “take care that you yourselves are not tempted.” The key to avoiding temptation is to go to a fallen friend as a group, not as an individual.
Are you regularly sitting alone with Jesus, asking Him to reveal any hidden sin in your life that you might confess to Him and other trusted spiritual friends? When you see a brother or sister in Christ publicly struggling with sin, is your heart filled with compassion or condemnation? Jesus left the 99 to go and rescue the one who had gone astray. Are you and I willing to do the same?
Day 4
Scriptures: James 1:12, Matthew 26:41
Blessed Is Anyone Who Endures Temptation
Some temptation comes upon us unexpectedly. We have done everything in our power to avoid it, but as we go about our day, it shows up in unexpected places. The lust of the eyes, the draw towards consumerism, and our inner desire to be the captain of our own ship have a way of showing up in places we would least expect.
When faced with this kind of temptation, my first reaction is often anger at the person or thing that triggered the temptation. But anger only leads to bitterness which is a breeding ground for justifying myself when I give into unexpected temptation.
Thomas A. Kempis once wrote, “No one is entirely safe from temptation no matter how long he lives, for we carry temptation’s source within us. We have all been born with a fierce self-centered desire for success, status, and pleasure that clashes with our longing for God… Many people try to escape temptations, then fall more severely into them! We cannot win by running away, but by patience and true humility, we become stronger than our enemies.”
So if we are to live and engage with others in the real world, we must learn to identify and overcome temptation. With the help of the Holy Spirit and the accountability of faithful friends, we can learn to endure temptation through prayer and memorization of scripture so that we might fight temptation when it unexpectedly comes knocking on our door.