Purify Your Mind Series (Part 2) by Joe KirbySample

You Won't Explode!

I remember in my early days as a young Christian, I went to a youth conference. One of the conference teachers said something rather simple, but also rather powerful: “If you resist sexual temptation, you won’t burst; you won’t explode.” How could he say that? Because our faithful God allows only so much tempting bait to be dangled in front of us. God knows you better than you know yourself. We may sometimes wish God did not have so much faith in our strength to resist sin, but He is never wrong.

A friend said to me recently after changing jobs, “I’m now in vulnerable situations where I’m in houses alone with women, and I don’t know how I’d react if they threw themselves on me.” Praise God that the Lord does know how you’d react—that’s why very few Christians find themselves in that position, because sadly many of us would crumble. I have another friend who did find himself in that position but was amazed at how, in that moment, God gave him the grace to resist.

The Devil tries to isolate us and make us believe our sin is peculiar, that no one understands—but God understands. Our loving Father will not put us in the ring with a super-heavy weight if He knows we are a spiritual featherweight. On the other hand, He will not put us in the ring with a featherweight if He knows we are a spiritual heavyweight. Be prepared to fight some big opponents if the Lord considers us worthy as we live for Him on this earth.