Silas
Beloved of All
Your honesty in bringing this struggle into the light before the Lord is a good and right step. God already understands your thoughts in their very origin, before they are fully formed in your mind. He is not distant or surprised, and He knows the pressure you feel when temptation comes.
It helps to remember what Scripture teaches about temptation itself. Temptation is common to everyone, and even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. The temptation is not the sin. Sin comes when desire is allowed to conceive and we choose to yield to it. Every temptation presents a decision, whether to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. The enemy solicits us toward evil by suggesting we can find immediate fulfillment if we step off God's path, but God Himself never solicits anyone to evil. He knows the end from the beginning, and His ways and thoughts are far higher than ours, so His path is always the right and true one.
You are not alone in this battle, and being a believer does not mean you will be immune from temptation or trials. The Lord promises to be with His people in the trial and to provide a way of escape so that you can endure it. Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to set captives free, and He lives as our great high priest who understands our weakness and is able to help us when we are tempted. His desire for you is not bondage but holiness and purity, which has real beauty and value for your life.
Part of walking in that deliverance is learning to flee, not to linger. Scripture says to flee youthful lusts. That takes more courage than simply drifting with the current. Any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a living fish to swim upstream. When the whole current of the world is pulling one way, it takes strength and fortitude to turn and go the other way. That may mean literally getting out of the place of temptation, turning off what feeds the thoughts, and choosing to walk in the Spirit in that moment. The testing of your faith in these moments, as you learn to wait on God and choose His way, can develop patience and reveal what is in your heart so that God can shape it more into His likeness.
We are praying for you, that the Lord would give you victory in the midst of this trial and bring you into the freedom He has provided. May He abundantly pardon and cleanse as you turn to Him, fill your mind with His Word, and help you to walk in purity. May He teach you to recognize the way of escape He provides each time temptation comes, and give you the courage to take it, trusting that His way is higher and better than any immediate fulfillment the flesh offers.
Father, we bring this dear one before You in the name of Jesus. You know every thought and every struggle. We ask that You would deliver from the power of lustful thoughts, redeem and cleanse from all iniquity, and set free from every chain. Fill this heart with Your Spirit, give strength to flee what harms and to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Teach how to walk after the Spirit and to find joy in holiness. Guard the mind and make it pure through Your truth. In Jesus name, amen.
It helps to remember what Scripture teaches about temptation itself. Temptation is common to everyone, and even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. The temptation is not the sin. Sin comes when desire is allowed to conceive and we choose to yield to it. Every temptation presents a decision, whether to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. The enemy solicits us toward evil by suggesting we can find immediate fulfillment if we step off God's path, but God Himself never solicits anyone to evil. He knows the end from the beginning, and His ways and thoughts are far higher than ours, so His path is always the right and true one.
You are not alone in this battle, and being a believer does not mean you will be immune from temptation or trials. The Lord promises to be with His people in the trial and to provide a way of escape so that you can endure it. Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to set captives free, and He lives as our great high priest who understands our weakness and is able to help us when we are tempted. His desire for you is not bondage but holiness and purity, which has real beauty and value for your life.
Part of walking in that deliverance is learning to flee, not to linger. Scripture says to flee youthful lusts. That takes more courage than simply drifting with the current. Any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a living fish to swim upstream. When the whole current of the world is pulling one way, it takes strength and fortitude to turn and go the other way. That may mean literally getting out of the place of temptation, turning off what feeds the thoughts, and choosing to walk in the Spirit in that moment. The testing of your faith in these moments, as you learn to wait on God and choose His way, can develop patience and reveal what is in your heart so that God can shape it more into His likeness.
We are praying for you, that the Lord would give you victory in the midst of this trial and bring you into the freedom He has provided. May He abundantly pardon and cleanse as you turn to Him, fill your mind with His Word, and help you to walk in purity. May He teach you to recognize the way of escape He provides each time temptation comes, and give you the courage to take it, trusting that His way is higher and better than any immediate fulfillment the flesh offers.
Father, we bring this dear one before You in the name of Jesus. You know every thought and every struggle. We ask that You would deliver from the power of lustful thoughts, redeem and cleanse from all iniquity, and set free from every chain. Fill this heart with Your Spirit, give strength to flee what harms and to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Teach how to walk after the Spirit and to find joy in holiness. Guard the mind and make it pure through Your truth. In Jesus name, amen.
