Taylor,
Thank you for placing your question in the box. It is relevant to us all.
Your question is: How do I withstand the temptations and draw closer to God?
Every person on earth including Christians struggles with temptation. In the Bible we are told the following things about temptation:
James 1:14-1514 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.”
In 2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”
The scriptures above tell us we are drawn away by our desires and God will strengthen us against temptations. They also tell us that temptations are bearable and we have a way out. The question is how are we to use these tools God has given us to effectively keep temptation from becoming sin.
God has not left us to guess how to react to temptation. He has given us the following scriptures to guide us in resisting:
Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
As you can see God has given us all the direction we need to deal with temptation but we need some practical applications to help us as we live in this world. The following steps will help you to put Gods plan in action:
Spend time in the Bible: The more you set scripture to memory the better prepared you are to fight the devil. Jesus showed us in Matthew 4:1-11 how to use scripture to fight the devil. Each response Christ gives to the devil is from the Old Testament. Use scripture when you are being tempted.
Matthew 4:1-11 – 4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Accountability: Find a Christian who you can trust to keep your confidence and give them permission to keep you accountable for whatever temptation is recurring. They need to ask you the hard questions about your temptations and you must feel safe enough to answer truthfully. They should pray for you in your struggle. An accountability partner is critical in staying true to your effort to defeat your temptations. James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Flee from sin: You cannot allow yourself to entertain the temptation on any level at any time. You have to remove yourself from the temptation.
Sometimes the fleeing is physical. An alcoholic should stay away from any place drinking is going on. It does not matter if it is a bar, a party or a friend house. He or she must flee.
If you have a hard time controlling yourself sexually when alone with your boyfriend you must not let yourself be alone and isolated. If you are living with someone you are not married to you must move out.
Sometimes your must remove something from your life or set up protections to keep the temptation from being reality. A case in point is pornography. If you have a problem with something, remove the source. Your computer may be a problem so you must remove it or put up safe guards to keep you from making your temptation a reality.
You may have a problem with gossip or foul language. Let others know you what to change and give them permission to point out your lapses.
Pray: You must keep your desire to defeat this temptation in your prayers. Ask God for His strength, protection and the tenacity to persevere until victory is yours.
I do not know what your temptations are but as we have noted God is there to help you but you must take steps to show God you really want to rid yourself of the life style the temptation thrives in. Once you have taken steps to flee kneel down and ask for God’s protection. Ask Him for His strength. What we cannot do for ourselves God can accomplish for us.
I don’t want to give you the impression it is easy to defeat temptation. It is not. You will have set backs and the temptation will get the better of you. When this happens analyze what happened and take action to plug the gap that allowed you to fall. After you plug the gap thank God for His forgiveness and begin again. God will honor your struggle and will be with you in the fight.
One last thing I want you to remember: James 1:12 – “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Taylor, I hope this helps you to fight the good fight and become victorious in Jesus Christ.