The Battle Against Temptation

I've broken my wrist twice. Both times I had to wear a cast for several weeks. When the cast finally came off, my arm looked like it belonged to a mutant. It was small and very weak. Eventually, my arm regained its strength, but until then I had limitations. I had to be careful of how I moved and to what I exposed my arm, always aware of how vulnerable it was.
We all have spiritually weak limbs. Areas in our lives that are more vulnerable to temptation than others. For some of us, lying comes naturally. Others struggle with anger. The list goes on and on. Don't think you're alone in your battle against the flesh. 1 Corinthians 10:13a states that "the temptations in your life are no different from what others experience." Also, know where temptation comes from. James 1:14 says that "temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away."
When it rains and there are puddles in the sand on the playground, we tell the children not to play in the water. Some of the best behaved boys and girls will stand looking at the puddles. I can almost see their fight against the desire to splash in them. I usually tell them to stay away from the puddles because I know when I turn my head to supervise the other children, the ones nearest the water will make their move.
The good news is that God gives us the grace necessary to stand up against temptation (James 4:6). James 4:7b says that if we resist the devil, he'll leave us alone. Keep in mind that a command comes before this promise: "So humble yourselves before God (verse 7a)." We can't for one minute think that we have the power on our own to fight temptation. When we're tempted, God provides our escape (1 Cor. 10:13b). All we can do by our own effort is run for the hills as soon as we see the door.
Don't be misled. I'm by no means saying that we're defenseless. God gives us some powerful weapons against temptation if we're wise enough to use them. For starters, we can take the passive aggressive approach and avoid the temptation altogether. The children that choose to swing and climb the monkey bars can't get in trouble for splashing in the puddles because they're nowhere near them. Another resource is God's Holy Word. This was Jesus' offensive strategy in the wilderness. He countered every piece of garbage from Satan with Scripture. We don't always have a Bible with us when being tempted, so the best thing to do is memorize as much as possible and spend daily time reading it. Psalms 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Another powerful tool is prayer. Jesus told his disciples to pray while he prayed in the garden so they would “not give in to temptation. For the Spirit is willing but the body is weak.” The prayer he taught his disciples included asking for help against temptation: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13).”
We will fail sometimes; it’s inevitable. However, using these tools will keep us from failing as often.