Skip to content ↓

Day Twenty Seven – Defeating Temptation

Articles Collection cover image

God will never allow me to face a temptation that is too much for me to bear. God provides me all I need to be able to stay strong through temptation. I can do my part by following four principles:

  • Refocus my attention on something else. If I focus on the problem I will never defeat it. Rather than focus on the temptation I am to divert my mind and think about other things. When temptations arise I do not need to be ashamed to run from them. Have you ever tried not to yawn? If you think and think about yawning, you are going to yawn! The same holds true with temptation. The more I think about it the more likely I am to fall into it. I need to divert my mind and run away from the tempting thoughts or situations.
  • Reveal my struggle to a godly friend or support group. I need to share my struggle with a friend so that person can pray for me, comfort me and hold me accountable. Confession is the first step to beating the problem.
  • Resist the Devil. The Bible is the weapon God gives us to defeat the Devil. By memorizing Scripture I can keep my mind filled with the weapon I need to defeat the temptations Satan throws at me. I never want to argue with Satan – I need to defeat Him with the weapon God has given me.
  • Realize my vulnerability. I need to realize that I am capable of any kind of sin. I cannot have a cocky attitude, believing that I am above falling into certain sins or I will let down my guard and Satan will use that to attack me.

When faced with temptation I need to have confidence in God – confidence that He can help me and that He has provided me with all that I need to escape.

Bible Passages

Warren quotes the Bible eighteen times using seven translations and paraphrases. He uses a few loose translations, but on the whole quotes with reasonable accuracy and within the proper contexts.

Point to Ponder

Today’s point to ponder is “there is always a way out.” I believe a lot of Christians, myself included, take lightly the need to really know Scripture. I don’t mean a knowledge of what the Bible is about, but a knowledge of actual verses and chapters. The Bible is the only offensive weapon God has given us in our fight against the Devil and against temptation. It pays to know it, yet it seems that we know so little and minimize its importance. When we are faced with temptation we do not need to cower. We can have confidence in God and in His promises – but these promises are contained in the Scriptures and we will not know them if we do not know the Bible.

Having been raised in a Christian household I have a lot of Bible knowledge. I recognize many verses and can often tell who wrote them and what they mean. But my actual knowledge of specific verses is pitiful. Time and time again I have tried to start a program of memorizing Scripture, and time and time again I have not gotten far. Sometimes I have gone for mere days and other times for a few weeks, but the end result has always been that I have stopped. I have been thinking of finding a “memorization partner” – someone who also wants to memorize Scriptures and will hold me accountable as I hold him accountable for learning them. I wonder if that will reap better results…

Up Next

Tomorrow’s topic is It Takes Time.


  • Prayer

    The Reward They Longed for They Received

    Jesus, who knew what was in the heart of men, warned of the hypocrisy of those whose prayer life is only ever public. “When you pray,” he said, “you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (May 17)

    A La Carte: Generalizations are not stereotypes / Hospitality and reaching the dechurched / Essential lessons for pastors / The rise of Islam and the resilience of the church / Gossip and godly church / Fear takes you where grace has not yet gone / and more.

  • Planted in the Word

    Planted in the Word

    There are a lot of Bible study guides out there. However, the need is not nearly saturated because there are also a lot of Bible readers, many of whom study the Word carefully and repeatedly throughout their Christian lives. For that reason, we cannot have too many guides to assist in reading, understanding, and applying…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (May 16)

    A La Carte: The role of dance in Christian worship / A community for broken homes / Our reason for missionary risk / The longings of the human heart / I’m not a handyman / Affluence, regret, identity crises / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (May 15)

    A La Carte: The clever move of Leo XIV / People expect church to be churchy / Don’t let TikTok disciple your kids / Playing God with children / Overcoming barriers to hospitality / Real men sing / and more.