How Do I Navigate Temptation In My Life?
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Additional Insights
When you put your faith in Christ, you were given a gift – the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke about this gift often with his followers, and he promised them that the Spirit would guide and help them in his physical absence from them. While understanding the concept of the Holy Spirit and the Trinity can be intimidating, there’s incredible freedom in accepting that, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Christians have enormous power to face all kinds of temptation.
Speaking about the Trinity, professor and author Dr. Norm Geisler once wrote, “The logic of the doctrine of the Trinity is simple. Two biblical truths are evident in Scripture, the logical conclusion of which is the Trinity.
There is one God.
There are three distinct persons who are God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When we are faced with overwhelming circumstances or temptations, we can be assured that through the Holy Spirit, we are able to defy our sinful nature (Paul also calls this the flesh) and choose freedom in Christ over sin. While these day-to-day choices aren’t easy, they are possible, especially in the context of a community of people who are committed to caring for each other and reminding each other of the power that we each have through Christ.
Think About It
Paul uses the image of walking and keeping in step to encourage Christians to take a daily, one-step-at-a-time approach to walking with God and overcoming the desires of our sinful nature. What would need to change about your routine or daily activity in order for you to walk more in step with the Spirit?
Christian author and teacher Larry Crabb says, “Everything in spiritual community is reversed from the world’s order. It is our weakness, not our competence, that moves others; our sorrows, not our blessings that break down the barriers of fear and shame that keep us apart; our admitted failures, not our paraded successes that bind us together in hope.”
Do you have a group of people (or even just one person) who you can share your weaknesses and temptations with? What is the next step you need to take to open up to them and create the kind of community that provides hope for each other?
Apply It
Typically we each have a pattern of sinful choices that follow the same path over time. Most people are tempted to fall into similar sins over the course of their lives. Can you identify these patterns as you look back over the course of the last 5 to 10 years? Make a list of the people, places, thoughts, or things that tend to steer you away from the things you want to do and into sin. Writing these down and admitting that they are problem areas may be the first step in moving forward and facing them with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the context of community.
For Group Discussion (If Desired)
What question(s) would be helpful for someone to ask you consistently in order for you to face the temptation that is most common for you? How can this group help?
Is there anything in your life right now that you need prayer for in order to feel free from it? What do you hope or wish that the Holy Spirit would guide you through at this point in your life?