Today, I willfully sinned but felt like I couldn’t prevent it. I saw it coming from a long distance off. The temptation came and left. A victory when I resisted but it was short lived. The temptation came back even stronger, I resisted again and reinforced my resolve to stay near the Lord and not let sin become a barrier between us. Then, I decided to do an activity that put me in a place where it would be easy to fall to that sin. There wasn’t anything wrong with that activity on its own but with that temptation in the atmosphere, it was like blindly walking into a mine field. Of course, I stepped on a mine.
Afterwards, in His grace, the Lord led me to Proverbs 4. Verse 15 says, Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. V16: For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.
It is possible that this applies to evil spirits too. They cannot rest until they cause you to stumble. Once you stumble, often the temptations cease. Almost like you can hear them say, “I got you again” as they sneer and slink back to their hiding place.
My disappointment comes in the recognition of my lack of preparation for battle. The battle doesn’t often come when I’m ready. It doesn’t come at my convenience. It will most often come when I’m least ready. The enemy lies in wait for the opportune moment and when you don’t prepare yourself, he springs his attack. I wasn’t covered by the armor referenced in Ephesians 6. Without the armor present, I tried to defend myself with what was essentially a naked, fleshly defense. Boy, did I learn that I’m not very protected when I’m naked. My flesh tried but failed.
So, lesson learned, and God in His mighty grace has paid for that lesson too. If you find yourself in a battle, recognize your need for armor. Recognize that you probably didn’t put on your armor and that is precisely why you’re in a battle at all. Stop what you’re doing. Your flesh doesn’t make much of a defense. Don’t rely on it because it will most likely fail. Rather, stop and put on your armor. Take that time-out and prepare your defense because it’s far more valuable to lose a few minutes than walk in the shame of another defeat.
Great article, exactly what I wanted to find.