How to Use "The Lust Dare"
Day #7: A Week of Victory
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law,
but under grace.” –Romans 6:14
I just want to start today by saying congratulations! For a
whole week you have challenged yourself daily and continuously to battle the
ugly sin of lust. You have had victory in the many battles against lust, and
the fact that you are reading this today means that you have not given up. I
know that this battle is extremely hard, and often seems unending and constant,
and that it would be the easiest thing in the world to give up fighting this
battle. It even may be the most appealing idea, that of giving in to the lust
instead of fighting it.
I want to encourage you today by pointing out a very
important piece of information. The fact that you are still daily and often
constantly facing temptation, does not mean that you are failing. It doesn’t
mean that you are any worse than those that don’t seem to be tempted by the
same things. And it doesn’t even mean that you are sinning. I am going to take
the wise words of an author I love, Hannah W. Smith, to help you understand
this today and be free of the guilt that often accompanies being tempted.
“People make the
mistake of looking on temptation as sin and of blaming themselves for
suggestions of evil, even while they abhor them. This brings them into
condemnation and discouragement. And continued discouragement always ends at last
in actual sin. Sin makes an easy prey of a discouraged soul, so that we often
fall from the very fear of having fallen.
“…The very power of
your temptations may perhaps be one of the strongest proofs that you really are
in the land of promise you have been seeking to enter because they are
temptations peculiar to that land. Consequently, never allow them to cause you
to question the fact of you having entered it.
“…We must expect to conquer. That is why the Lord
said so often to Joshua ‘Be strong and of
good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed’; ‘Only be strong and very
courageous.’ (Joshua 1:9, 7). And it is also the reason He says to us, ‘Let not your heart be troubled, neither
let it be afraid.’(John 14:27). The power of temptation is in the fainting
of our own hearts. The enemy knows this well, and he always begins his assaults
by trying to discourage us.
“This discouragement
arises sometimes from what we think is a righteous grief and disgust at
ourselves that such things could be
a temptation to us but… true humility can bear to see its own utter weakness
and foolishness revealed because it never expected anything from itself and
knows that its only hope and expectation must be in God. Therefore, instead of
discouraging the humble soul from trusting, such revelations drive it to a
deeper and more complete trust. But the counterfeit humility that self-love
produces plunges the soul into the depths of a faithless discouragement and
drives it into the very sin with which it is so distressed.”
We absolutely cannot let our temptations discourage us so
much, that discouragement becomes a very sin in of itself. The Bible tells us
that Jesus was tempted, but also that He did not sin. When tempted, recognize
that as an opportunity to dive deeper into a complete trust in God; that He can
help you avoid such temptations. And take today to celebrate that God has been
aiding you in that battle for the past week, and has given you victory!
“All joy count it, my brethren, when ye may fall into temptations
manifold.”
–James 1:2(Young’s Literal)
Today’s Dare
Celebrate your
victory today in avoiding temptations by doing something special. Splurge on a
Starbucks or your favorite Soda or a chocolate bar. Or maybe take a bubble
bath. Just find some special way to remember that though the battle is
constant, and though the temptations may come one on top of the other, that God
has and is giving you the victory. At the very least, do a happy dance with
your accountability partner today!
The Lust Dare: Day #12
The Lust Dare: Day #13
The Lust Dare: Day #14
The Lust Dare: Day #15
The Lust Dare: Day #16
The Lust Dare: Day #17
The Lust Dare: Day #18
The Lust Dare: Day #19
The Lust Dare: Day #20
The Lust Dare: Day #21
The Lust Dare: Day #22
The Lust Dare: Day #23
The Lust Dare: Day #24
The Lust Dare: Day #25
The Lust Dare: Day #26
The Lust Dare: Day #27
The Lust Dare: Day #28
The Lust Dare: Day #29
The Lust Dare: Day #30
The Lust Dare: Day #15
The Lust Dare: Day #16
The Lust Dare: Day #17
The Lust Dare: Day #18
The Lust Dare: Day #19
The Lust Dare: Day #20
The Lust Dare: Day #21
The Lust Dare: Day #22
The Lust Dare: Day #23
The Lust Dare: Day #24
The Lust Dare: Day #25
The Lust Dare: Day #26
The Lust Dare: Day #27
The Lust Dare: Day #28
The Lust Dare: Day #29
The Lust Dare: Day #30
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