BIBLE PASSAGE:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
(1 Peter5:8)
MEDITATION:
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? We believe that Jesus is the
Son of God, we believe that He became our sacrifice for sin and
was crucified for our transgressions, we believe that He was
resurrected and is now sitting with God the Father in Heaven,
and we believe that He is coming back one day to welcome home
those who belong to Him.
But even with our beliefs and our attempts to become more like
Jesus, there is still an area of our life that keeps trying to pull us
in another direction…which is away from the Lord.
We might be having the same struggle as some other believers we
know, or we could be struggling with something entirely different
that is a weakness for us. Whatever the case, we know that the
struggle is real because Satan and his workers are real.
We can feel that our lives have become a never ending journey of
peaks and valleys. We find that our peaks are when we feel closer
to the Lord, and that our valleys are whenever we are ‘entertaining’
the sin which so easily entangles us (this should serve as a reminder
to us of the cleverness and power of Satan and his schemes).
With those thoughts and feelings in mind, what could be the root
cause that takes us from a peak to a valley? Isn’t it a result of our
own choices? In other words, we can be on a peak and for whatever
reason, we choose to have a ‘snack’ with the sin that we know can
wrap its chains around us. And when it ‘grabs us’, we switch from
trying to become more righteous, to beginning a new struggle of
striving to break free from the bondage of Satan.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us, (Hebrews 12:1)
We have to admit that it is easier to strive to become more like Jesus,
if we are not having to also spend time trying to break the chains that
are pulling us in an opposite direction. It’s like we are a piece of metal
standing between two powerful magnets, isn’t it?
If one magnet is removed, we can easily be moved toward the other one.
If the one removed is from Satan, then we will move closer to the Lord,
and of course, if the one removed is from the Lord, we will slide closer
to the influence and control of Satan.
You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you
were influenced and led astray to mute idols. But I am afraid
that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your
minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure
devotion to Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:2-3)
The question we should consider is, “Why would we decide to have
a ‘snack’ with our weakness to sin?” It could be that we have
developed a confidence that we have overcome that particular sin,
and we want to prove to ourselves that it can no longer control our
life. But what happens? Even though we have tried this before and
failed, we still want to prove to ourselves that a particular sin will
no longer have dominion over us, but we find out that it still does.
We may think it is only a ‘snack’ with sin, but it is similar to when
we have decided that we are going to stop eating as much, but then
someone puts chips and dip in front of us. We might say that we will
only eat one chip, but we know that’s not going to be the end of it,
don’t we? Later, we are disappointed and frustrated over our lack
of self-control.
It’s the same when we have a ‘snack’ the sin that is stronger than
our ability to resist. What we thought would only be a brief ‘snack
with sin’, becomes a ‘full meal’ and eventually a ‘feast’. And how do
we feel afterward? We feel guiltiness for failing, and we know that
we will be in a struggle to return to where we were before ‘tasting’
that sin again.
Another reason we might choose what we know we should avoid
completely is, we convince ourselves that we can ‘sample’ it for a
brief moment of pleasure, without being controlled by it again.
In other words, we remember the pleasure we had when a sin had
full control over us, and we want ‘just a little’ of that pleasure
again.
The scriptures give us some warnings about this kind of thinking.
God’s Word warns us about spending any time with one of Satan’s
weapons which can seize control of our lives again.
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
(1 Corinthians 15:33)
We are given strong advice about our struggle with sin which can
damage our relationship and fellowship with the Lord. We are
reminded that we have been doing well at resisting a particular
temptation, so we shouldn’t reach for it again. Instead, we need
to leave the dark deed in the dark, and continue to focus on the
light of pursuing the righteousness of Jesus.
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put
on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)
We might think that we are doing okay with our own plans for
dealing with a pervasive and influential sin in our life, but the
scriptures remind us of what will happen (and in many of us it
is something that has happened countless times before).
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to
keep you from obeying the truth? (Galatians 5:7)
Not only will our ‘snack time’ bring an end to the good race we
were running toward the purity and righteousness of Jesus, but
it will ‘turn us around’, and we will begin to find all kinds of
reasons to stop obeying what we God says (and we know) is right.
Try to visualize the previous scripture. We see a person chasing
after righteousness and getting closer to it daily, but suddenly
they not only stop running, but they turn and start walking, and
then running in the opposite direction.
ACTION:
The battle is real! Since Satan tried to tempt Jesus, then certainly
he is going to tempt you and me often. We have all heard the phrase,
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a
different result”. This certainly applies to how we struggle and
fail in our attempts to “snack” with sin, doesn’t it?
We only need to recall our past failures to be reminded that the
same thing will happen again. Our challenge is to ‘continue
running the race’ toward righteousness, and to not allow bad
choices to discourage us and cause us to change the direction
we were headed. We experienced guilt and disappointment in
our previous attempts to ‘play with’ sin, and we will feel the
same way if we do it again.
Think about this:
One of the ‘pet’ thoughts Satan likes to plant in our minds is,
“Just one more time”. Why? Because he knows it gives him an
opportunity to create a foothold in our lives, which eventually
lead to establishing a stronghold, and at that point we are once
again prisoners of his bondage.
Our best defense against repeated failures, is to guard our mind
from entertaining these thoughts. The scriptures make it clear
that sinful thoughts will enter our minds, and it is how we handle
them when they do, that is most important.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that
sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we
take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:5)
We need to purposely fill our mind with so much righteousness
that there is no room left for unrighteous thoughts to establish
a home within us. Reading God’s Word and praying, are weapons
for escorting these sinful thoughts out of our mind when they
suddenly appear.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know the cleverness of the Evil
One and You know how I struggle in my efforts to resist
his schemes to control my life. My desire is to increase
my fellowship with You, and not to be subjected to the
bondage of Satan. I pray that You would fill me to an
overflow with the Holy Spirit, so that I will stop making
the same bad choices in the future; choices which will
cause me to fail, and damage my relationship with You.”
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