Resolve to Resist

“I have resolved that my mouth will not sin” (Psalm 17:3). This is a good resolution, yet one that cannot be accomplished without God’s guidance and control in us. The most righteous have tried to not sin, but this is the walk of life, impossible without God. Once receiving salvation through Christ’s life, death and resurrection given for you, you begin the sanctifying process of living like Jesus, the only sinless One. He did not do it through His divinity, for He gave that up to live with us and show us the way to holiness and righteousness. He was tempted in every way like us Hebrews 4:15 tells us. His temptation by Satan in the desert built up His strength even in fasting. Jesus overcame the temptation by seeking His Father in Heaven, just as we can.

Daniel the Hebrew taken into slavery by Nebuchadnezzar was a man who sought the Lord continually to living purely. The vegetarian diet on which He and His friends prospered was to show God’s favor upon him. We have God’s favor also as we put aside sin through His power being made perfect in our weakness as Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 12:9. Yes we will be tempted as Daniel was, and even suffer as he did in the lion’s den. But God is faithful. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Yes, God is faithful to provide a way out or through, an escape so you can handle the temptation.   We are all tempted, but the key is not to fall. As we trust God to resist sin He is faithful, but we need to be watching and listening for the queues or help. He enables us to resist it.

I know from personal experience that each time we resist we get stronger. This does not make us immune, but more able, with God’s help to resist.  I think that there are several things important to this quest.

·      Resolve not to fall with God’s help through prayer and His Word

·      Resist the Devil by praying for help

·      Resolve before a temptation that you will not go there

·      Remove temptations from your life (porn, sinful behaviors)

·      Run from temptations like Joseph did from Potiphar’s  wife

·      Retreat from sinful situations and go on retreat to be restored

·      Rest in God’s love and refreshment

·      Reconcile yourself daily to refuse to fall to temptation

·      Resolve to find an accountability partner to share your life and pray for you

·      Rebar (short for reinforcing bar), also known as reinforcing steel, reinforcement steel and colloquially in Australia as reo, is a steel bar or mesh of steel wires used as a tension device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and hold the concrete in tension. This description is better known in Scripture as putting on the full armor of God:

·      “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:10-18).