Winning the War

It is my hope that the last seven days have been liberating.  Detoxing you from all the myths and bad communication you have heard from others and have said to yourself.  I hope you feel more empowered, even encouraged about this stage of your life, realizing that God is faithful to give us our heart's desire when we simply delight in His will.  So what do we tackle next? Warfare!

If I can just be brutally honest, one of the reasons I dislike being single is because of the warfare associated with it.  You are tempted and tried and tempted and tried and even pulled by your own lust...did I say your own lust!?! Yup, those things in you not yet yielded, those things you thought you had already resolved...residing in YOU, that make you "stray" from the life of holiness and discipline.   

I promise, tonight's blog won’t be lengthy, we have a whole seven days to deal with this one area. If you have not already associated the 40 day series to any other 40 day scenario in the Bible, I would like to direct your attention to Jesus, who was tempted 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.  This can be found in the book of Matthew 4th chapter.  The first temptation Jesus was presented with was to turn stones into bread...the tempter knew that though Jesus was divine he was still a man.  A man that hungered and thirst just like we do!  He knew that Jesus had a need, it was natural,t here was no shame in him being hungry or even wanting to eat...The temptation was only a temptation when Jesus had agreed with the will of the Father to "refrain" from eating to fulfill a purpose....

See this is the heart of the matter...we all have a desire to be fulfilled, to have our natural need for companionship and intimacy met! However this time...anything presented outside of the TIMING of God is at war with the will of God.  See, this season in your life has been set aside to accomplish something greater than simply fulfilling a hunger. And if in fact you have become aware of this, then you a right candidate to be tempted...for the enemy to remind you that you have a need AND the ability to fulfill it.  The test is refraining from using our natural ability to meet the need.  

All temptation is NOT about sex! We make choices everyday based on what we need and desire.  We are analytical creatures equipped to make decisions to fulfill what is lacking, the greatest temptation is to not rely on us but to trust God enough to yield fully to His process.  

Do you see where I am headed?  This season in our lives is not just a test of wills, but has been divinely orchestrated to bring us into something greater... marriage is only one dimension of what we were created to do.  And if we focus too much on the “absence” of what we want then that hunger has the capacity to override truth and discipline.  The key to overcoming any temptation is relying on what God has already said about it…and using His word to anchor our thoughts, emotions and desires.  I hope this helps!  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I don’t have all the answers, but I know what I know!