“It is impossible that no offenses should come” (Luke 17:1).
We are not all experts in our fight against Satan, and the temptation to sin is sure to come, just as Jesus said, especially in our generation. Temptation can easily enter our lives, even in the privacy of our own rooms, with everything at our fingertips. It’s no longer a hassle to find magazines or go to clubs to satisfy our sinful desires. Nowadays, everything we desire is just a click away. Jesus Himself warned us that temptation would come. So, if we stumble and fall, especially in this generation, His love causes Him to implement a permanent solution to safeguard our lives.
So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore, the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.’(Numbers 21:6-8)
Here, you can see that God did not ask those who were bitten by the snakes why they had sinned or spoken against Him. His focus was on finding a solution. He instructed Moses to create a fiery serpent and place it on a pole so that whoever was bitten and looked at it would be saved.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
God understands the immense temptation and our human weakness, so He doesn’t ask why we sin. He only asks why we didn’t look to Jesus on the cross for salvation. Just like those who looked at the fiery serpent on the pole were saved, those who repent and look to Jesus on the cross after sinning will also find life. It’s not about why we sin, but about why we didn’t turn to Him in repentance and look to Him on the cross.
Everyone sins, as the Bible testifies:
+ “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). + “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). + “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
I’m writing these words not to give you an excuse to sin, but to lift you up if you relapse. What you are going through, millions of people are going through as well, if not more. When you fall, you don’t stay down. You stand up and dust yourself off. The same applies when you relapse. You look at your weakness and declare:
“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me” (Micah 7:8).
Satan always tries to break your willpower, making you think you can’t climb anymore, that all your efforts will be wasted because you’ll always desire sin. But regardless of your situation, pull yourself together and remember that there is always a powerful God. Let Satan know that he may have won this round, but you will stand again.
Be like a wise sailor. If your ship leans to the left and you feel like giving up, remind yourself of God’s grace. No one is without sin, even if life was only one day. And then, as a sailor, if your ship leans to the right and Satan’s waves start telling you that you’re doing well, winning round after round, reject these voices too. Tell him that the war belongs to the Lord, and He is the ultimate winner. As for me, I’ll keep sailing the seas He calms before me. He is the one who calms the seas and steadies my feet so I won’t shake.
Don’t give up if you fall. It happens to everyone. Don’t get discouraged. Just like a toddler learning to walk, they fall multiple times, maybe get bruises, but eventually, they will walk, forgetting all about crawling. Similarly, young birds learning to fly are pushed from trees by their parents and fall multiple times. But they try until they can spread their wings and fly. If they keep falling, their parents catch them and let them try again. The same goes for you. If you fall, your heavenly Father sends a voice to catch you and says, “Stand up.”
However, we must mention another trick Satan uses once you’ve fallen. He tells you that God is forgiving, and it’s okay to indulge in things you’ve been avoiding these past few days. Treat yourself to the things you desire to watch, even though you’ve been trying to avoid them while walking with God. Now that you’ve fallen, it seems like your chance to visit that website or revisit that video or picture. But be careful, my dear fighter. Do not fall into that trap. The more you accept these temptations, the harder it becomes to break free.
The more you give in to these temptations, the more you allow Satan to surround you with his influence. This makes it harder to start over and escape again. Instead, run! Run like shadows are chasing you.
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart”(2 Timothy 2:22 ESV).
Leave the house. Call someone. Do not rely on prayer alone to calm the voices in your head. It is not the time to confront your enemy yet; your faith isn’t strong enough to solely rely on prayer for inner peace. Satan may try to deceive you into thinking that praying and returning to the computer will help. Dear fighter, be aware of these tricks, and don’t let yourself be trapped. You long to hear God’s voice, so escape and run back to where you started. Running is your only chance for healing. Once healed, you’ll have a strong body to face your enemy. Your life won’t always be about running, but right now, running is what will let you heal.
Testing God
Another danger when you fall is being tempted to test God, thinking that He is always kind and accepting. After all, you can always go back, and His door is always open. It’s true that His door is open, and whoever comes to Him will never be turned away. However, He also says, “Do not test the Lord your God.” He accepts those who, in their weakness, have fallen but still cling to His hand. Their spirits burn with the desire to return to God. But if you fall because of weakness and choose to stay down, God will turn away. He can’t see you desire evil more than Him, and He bears witness to that. He is a jealous God.
“For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).
God will step aside. When He does, His power, protection, grace—everything He provides—steps aside with Him.
What begins with temptation ends with you becoming prey, something that feeds on your weaknesses. But when you call on Jesus, He will always respond. He will forgive and accept you. Still, frequent relapses leave deep wounds that can affect your mental and physical health. Even though you’re forgiven, you’ll still need to deal with the aftermath.
Finally, remember this:
God will never ask you why you sinned. But He will ask,
“If my door is always open, why didn’t you repent?”
Start with five minutes of prayer.
WinThisBattle!
