When we are half way down the wrong path is certainly not the best time to decide to avoid it. The time to steer clear of it is when we first encounter the thought of it. It is best to be well down the right path before we can even ponder the idea of the wrong path. The process goes something like this. The wrong path, let’s call it what it is, sinful behavior, is an idea that comes into our mind. Right there. Did you see it? That moment right there is where we reject the wrong path and choose the right one. You kill the thought. Or more correctly you ‘take that thought captive’. Once you allow it to sit around in your thoughts for a bit it begins to take on a life of its own. We consider it, wonder how it would be, think through the execution or it and a fantasy is born. We have allowed a longing to grow in our heart. At that point, without incredible intervention by God’s Spirit and our will, we have already lost. It is why Jesus refers to the dangerous sin of lust in the mind. It is also why James gives the path to the birth of sin in our lives. It is also why Paul declares God provides a way out of ‘every’ temptation. It is not in the midst of the sin. It is before we start down that path. Today, listen when God’s Spirit whispers in your spirit at the first idea of a sinful choice and reject even the thought. #BeTheEdge
“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.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
