Skeedaddle!

I hope y'all will bear with me -- I have another garden story!
The Spirit teaches us every day, if we will just listen.

The picture above is taken from inside our house; the doe is getting more bold as she sees tender leaves and grass that she thinks will be yummy to eat.

Just the other evening, we were out in the yard and saw her headed toward the garden. Just like we humans, she was headed into danger. She wanted what she could not have.....

The green bean plants may have been what attracted her the most. After all, the bunnies had been eyeing them (and nibbling when the dog didn't chase them away) for a while. The deep green, tender leaves must have been extremely tempting.  The garden plot was between us and the doe, but there probably wasn't more than say, fifty yards between us. She kept walking slowly, keeping her gaze on us. Were we going to move?
I'm sure the smell of the plants in the garden had a lot to do with it, too. Part of the package. Looks good. Smells good. Must taste delicious!
Closer and closer to the garden she came.
Then one of us said something to the other.
The spell was broken. Up came her head, and her posture changed.
She was alert.
Ready to flee.
Another sound from us (inadvertently) and off she went, her white tail flashing through the dusk. She skeedaddled! She didn't stop until she reached the other side of the pasture. Safe.

Temptation is something that all of us face as believers. Doesn't matter how long we've been following our Savior, either, it still pops up and tantalizes us.
Looks good.
Smells good.
Must be delicious!
There are a few practical things that we can do to grow stronger and smarter in our struggle against sin. We can learn how to overcome temptation.....

First, we need to recognize our own tendency to sin. It happens to everyone. Although everyone's "green bean plants" may be different - what tempts one person doesn't bother another!

but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. (James 1:14)

The fact that we will be tempted to sin is a given - we shouldn't be surprised by it, and we should expect to be tempted daily.
What to do?
Skeedaddle! (That's a technical term, there, and for you peeps that didn't hear it from your grandma as often as I did, it means "run," "flee," "get out of there fast!")

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

See! God will not only keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand against it, He will provide a way of escape! When we come face to face with temptation, we need to look for the way out. Then skeedaddle! Flee! Run away as fast as possible!

There's another way to resist temptation - with the Word of truth. Sometimes it is difficult to keep our thoughts where they need to be....but we can:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (II Corinthians 10:4-5)

We have an awesome example of this when Jesus overcame the devil's temptations in the wilderness: He used the Word of God. It worked for Him and it will work for us - now, while it can be helpful to read the Word when we are being tempted, that is not always practical! So, it's even better to read the Bible daily, so that we can have so much of it "on the inside" that we are ready when temptations come our way. All we will need to do is draw our weapon, aim, and fire!

Another way to fight temptation is to focus our minds on worshiping the Lord. Praising Him takes our focus off ourselves; it puts our focus squarely on the Lord. We may lack the strength we need to resist temptations all on our own, but He will give us the strength to walk away.

Praise the Lord.How good it is to sing praises to our God,    how pleasant and fitting to praise him! (Psalm 147:1)

The last way to fight temptations is to be realistic -- knowing that sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, in spite of relying on Him -- we will fail. Having a realistic view of our own humanity will help us to repent quickly when we fall. And a realistic view of His awesome power to strengthen and protect us will help us to get back on our feet and keep moving forward.

So, the next time temptation rears its head, remember a verse or passage to help, praise God for His help, and skeedaddle!