RUN, CHRISTIAN, RUN!
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
2 Samuel 11:2-5 (NIV)
Those who think they will never fall are probably the most likely to fall. Peter told Jesus that he would never deny Him; sometime later, he denied Him three times. I don’t know if David thought he wouldn’t fall into sexual temptation, but be leery of any pride that leads you to believe you are above falling in a particular area. In sexual temptation, and really, any temptation, there will be something that jolts or shocks you. David came out and saw a beautiful woman. It’s important to remember that temptation isn’t a sin, but what we do with those feelings can lead us to destructive and sinful places. David saw a beautiful woman, but instead of running away, he lingered. He allowed himself to put himself in a no-win situation. There are times when the Spirit jolts us, and we become aware we are in a dangerous place. If we delay, then we are dead. The solution is to run, to flee from the devil, and then God will draw near in a new way.
I can tell you what I’m learning is that it’s a series of missteps I tend to make. David saw this woman. Then he inquired about this woman. Then he sent someone to bring this woman to him. He had fallen before he had ever connected with her. Sexual temptation and the love of money are the only two sins we are told to run from. David didn’t run from it; rather, he walked right into it, costing him a huge price. Remember that lust first begins with looking. So, if you run from something, you are no longer looking in that direction, and then you can look directly at Jesus. God will always be faithful to provide a way out, a jolt that causes you to come to your senses; then, you must flee and run from sexual temptation. If you delay, it will kill you, spiritually speaking.
APPLICATION: God has called you to flee from sexual temptation.
PRAYER: Ask the Spirit if there is any situation you are lingering in that He would call you to run from. Ask the Spirit to reveal anything that is causing you to fall prey to sexual temptation, then commit to run from that person or thing.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?