Hi Wynona,
I find two very different ways I go about dealing with temptation.
Temptation itself, I have to ask, what is it?
I'll be happy to go into the different passages, but to summarize,
Our bodies are corrupted, damaged, by Original Sin, being born without fellowship with God, and damaged by the sinfulness in the world, our upbringing, our own choices and actions, all of these write into our being the ravages of sin, and it's deceiptful lusts.
These desires of the flesh are for safety and gratification, shelter, food, sex, fun, power, all that. God has ways to provide all this, He way, His time, but we're out of touch, so we live our lives on our own.
Then we come to faith.
God gives us rebirth, a New Creature is born. This creature is born from God Himself, His spirit child, and this New Creature now inhabits the original person born from Adam.
All of those thoughts and desires of the man born from Adam continue to go on, the 'old man'. We are to put of the old man, and put on the new man, to reject the thoughts and desires of the old man, and learn to recognize the thoughts and desires of the new man, and do those.
Situations, circumstances are before us, and the flesh man has his way, and this is sin. The New Man is born of God, and is righteous, and is empowered by God Himself.
We can endure the circumstance, only doing what we know to be approved in Christ, and let it do it's work in us. Or if we fail to trust God, we think that we have to DO something, or, we think this lust of the flesh is what "I" want, or that I can't stop it, or whatever it is that causes us to stop trusting God for life and godliness in this moment,
And sin results. The flesh is there to continue it's life if we fail to live in our new life.
That which is born of God does not sin. Is there sin in your life? It's not there from the New Creation. The New Creation shares God's nature.
The one born from Adam is a sinner, the one born from God does not sin.
James 1:14 KJV
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Ephesians 4:22 KJV
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
How I see it . . .
When we find temptations, desires for evil things, fear or anger, I think our first reaction is typically to make a choice to not do that, to stop that, an act of our will. We find the flesh pushes harder, with cravings and dread, and whatever it is. So we push harder, it pushes, we push, we either prevail or not, depending on the particular case, and the force of our willpower.
I've come to see, however, that when I'm believing my reconciliation to God, when I'm trusting that EVERYTHING NEEDED for me to have full and complete and open fellowship with God was already done by Jesus, that I find myself basking in His presence and goodness and love, and those temptations, evil desires, fears and angers and whatever, either, they simply evaporate away without a trace, or become VERY different, not pushing me at all, just seeking attention, which I either give or not, as according to what is good in the sight of God.
When temptations come pushing harder, and try to move my faith away from Jesus, there may be a bumpy ride as I endure whatever it is, but the beauty is in the presence of the Lord even when being assaulted by evil.
Resisting sin unto blood, I'm going to resist until I bleed, and die! But either by force of will, or by walking in the Spirit. Building a better character, or putting on the new man, who is righteous, just like my Father.
Either learning to walk in a better path, or stretching out my wings to fly.
Jesus gives us wings to fly, and trains us in a better life as we are learning how to fly.
Much love!
