Hey all,
August is looking pretty full-on for my family and me, so as I prepare to take a couple of weeks off from the blogging to enjoy some family time, I just wanted to share this quick thought with you all.
When I was out walking the dog, I got an insect bite on the inside of my ankle while walking in the long grass. Initially, it wasn’t too bad but, as time went by, and because I never treated the bite.. by evening in bed, my ankle was going mad with an itch. I reached down and started scratching. THE WORST THING. To scratch, an itch does not relieve the itch, in fact, it makes it more intense. And I have the massive crater on my ankle to prove it! The itch drove me crazy, I couldn’t keep away from it.
Today as I was inspecting the damage done by my scratching, I couldn’t help but think about the temptation of sin being so like that initial bite.
If you don’t treat the initial temptation properly and you go ahead and scratch that itch it could drive you crazy. And one scratch is never enough; it just intensifies the desire to scratch even more. And before you know it you have a big infected scab on your leg, or you have a heart infected by sin.
So what do we do?
We treat at first bite. If I had treated the initial bite, I might not have been lying in bed, scratching my leg like crazy until two in the morning.
Just like when we feel that initial temptation to sin, we need to turn to God and get it treated, because if we don’t treat that temptation and go ahead and scratch it, we will have an even bigger problem on our hand.
We need to treat the BITE, not the SCAR
What temptation do you need to take to God to ask for help to strengthen you against?
Even more so, what bite repellent do you use?
Scripture tells us that if we know the word of God, it will help us claim victory over struggle and temptation.
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Psalms 119:11 NLT
When Jesus was in the desert fasting, Satan came to tempt him. Jesus’ response was to quote scripture, eventually causing the enemy to flee.
“For forty days and forty nights, he fasted and became very hungry. During that time, the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’ ” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”
Matthew 4:2-9, 11 NLT
As Christians, we will not have a better bite repellent than the word of God. Reading and studying Scripture daily and praying isn’t so that we can tick a box and say, oh aren’t I a good Christian reading my Bible every day? It is so that we can store the word of God in our heart and know it for times when the enemy tries to tempt us to sin.
