Put on the armor of God.
Saying no to sin is a daily battle. Some days are skirmishes and others are full out hand to hand combat.
Sure, it’s easier to give in and then ask for forgiveness but you lose so much ground in the process. As Christians, we received wholesale forgiveness the moment we receive Christ, BUT the cost of giving in is more than you think. The Holy Spirit is grieved, the shame leads to a loss of communion with God, followed by a loss of assurance of His love, followed by loving discipline administered by God himself.
If you’ve ever tried holding your breath for a long time you may have experienced your body start to jitter and shake because of a lack of oxygen. This is the body’s natural tendency to fight to get something it needs.
Our bodies are conditioned to sin And we can go through a jitter and shaking phase if we withhold from our bodies the things it craves.
I was addicted to pornography for a little over 10 years and didn’t experience victory until 2018. There are days where I am completely at peace, and then there are days that are skirmishes followed by days that are full out combat.
Yesterday was combat.
I begged God for deliverance and put on His armor. It was a hot battle but he gave me His grace and by faith I obeyed. This morning, I can hear the birds outside and inside I can sense the light of the love of God shed abroad in my heart.
Put on the armor of God (in essence, put on Christ).
God works in and through us His own good will and pleasure, we trust and obey by faith, Satan flees with his tail between his legs, God gets the glory, others benefit by taking shade in the mustard seed tree of our faith, and you experience deep abiding joy in Jesus.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:10-18, NIV
Tim Holman, Writer 