How to gain ground in the war against sin

“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

1 Samuel 15:22

Two hunters were out looking for game one day when they came across a giant grizzly bear. They immediately dropped their rifles and ran for cover. One climbed a tree while the other hid in a cave. The bear was in no hurry to eat, so he sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect upon his good fortune.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the hunter in the cave came rushing out, almost ran into the waiting bear, and then dashed back in again. The same thing happened a second time. When he emerged for the third time, his companion in the tree frantically called out, “Woody, are you crazy? Stay in the cave till he leaves!”

“Can’t!” panted Woody. “There’s another bear in there!”

Quite often in the Christian life, we flee from one sin to a perceived place of safety only to discover we’ve let our guard down and are more vulnerable than ever. We oscillate back and forth until we eventually become exasperated at trying to follow the “don’ts” of the Christian life.

But what if instead of worrying so much about the “don’ts,” we began to focus on the “dos”? We’d break out of the idleness of simply abstaining from sin, and find real purpose in obediently serving God. So instead of just being content not sinning, actively obey God and you’ll find victory over your vulnerability to sin!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to show you how you’ve been oscillating in obedience because of idleness. Pray He’d show you how to find real purpose to break that cycle.

Questions for Thought

What are sins you struggle with, start to experience victory against, and then seem to always come back to in the end?

Instead of simply being content with obeying the “don’ts,” what are some “dos” you can focus your energy toward that would help break the cycle of temptation?