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Proverbs 4:15 NLT

'Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving.'

I don’t imagine you wake in the morning with your first thought, “Oh, how evil I am!” Most of the time, aware of our faults, and better able to manage them as the years accumulate, we navigate life with just an occasional discomforting twinge. It is so easy to remain blindsided by the temptation that so easily sways us.

I might recite Bible verses, yet the ability to resist temptation lies often buried within my will. I choose to yield or resist. In making that choice, my creative mind can serve up compelling arguments in support of whichever path I choose.

As a child, I resisted wrongdoing out of fear of the consequences. Yet, since “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18, NKJV), obedience born of fear is of no virtue. The writer of the Proverbs suggests a threefold strategy; first avoid, then pull back from any step in temptations direction and finally change direction. How can this possibly work?

Avoidance is the ideal, yet I flirt with temptation, allowing it to take shape within my mind. I often wake up to the reality and power of temptation a few steps down the road of disobedience. Here I have my strategy ready; I pause, and pray the Jesus Prayer a few times to focus my attention on God. There are occasions, of course, when the power of the temptation seeks to drive all opposition out of its path and, being weakened within my will, having already entertained temptation, I then need to change direction. Here our lovely dog becomes a source of encouragement. Harness on, out the door and into a walk, I physically live out my commitment to change direction and break the hold of the temptation. Changing my environment provides my final point of decision – otherwise I tend I succumb to temptation with all is charm and harm.

QUESTION: What steps do you take to resist temptation?

PRAYER: Lord, lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil.