Fight When You Can’t Flee: A Battle Plan For Temptation

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

As acknowledged in my last post, When You Can’t Escape Temptation, Take a Sword to It, sometimes you simply cannot flee temptation. Sometimes it comes hand-in-hand with your daily life.

You have an addiction to sweets, and you work at a bakery. You struggle with lust but your summer job as a lifeguard means you’re surrounded by half-naked bodies all day long. And though you have a difficult time resisting porn, you need your computer for school.

Unless you quit your jobs and join an old-order Amish school, it’s pretty hard to completely remove all snares.

If that’s the case, it’s time to prepare a battle plan for temptation—something you can reach for the next time it attacks.

A LESSON FROM WORLD WAR II

In May of 1940, Nazi Germany—which had a bad habit of walking into other countries and acting like it owned them—invaded France. This incident tends to take a back seat to all the other atrocities in World War II history books, but if you dive deeper, you’ll learn this seemingly benign country didn’t just roll over and let them set up comfortable residence. Nor did they flee.

France resisted, and in doing so, gave the Allied forces a powerful upper hand that ultimately led to the fall of the Nazi regime.

There’s a time to flee, and a time to fight.

Undeniably, the best battle plan for temptation is to avoid it altogether—to flee. But when that’s not an option, do what France did. Don’t let sin make itself comfy in your soul. This is the time to fight, and God has given you a powerful tool:

His Word.

RESIST THE DEVIL: YOUR PERSONAL BATTLE PLAN FOR TEMPTATION

Step 1: Write Down What You Struggle With Most

What is your pet sin? Think of that one thing you just can’t seem to give up no matter what. (See my post Keep Pulling the Weeds.) Or the temptation that returns, weeks, months, even years after you thought you were through with it.

Write it down. If you have more than one, write each on a piece of paper, leaving about seven lines between them. You’ll fill the extra space in a moment.

Step 2: Find a Verse to Apply to That Situation

This is the fun part: choosing your weapon.

There’s power in knowing you’ve selected a weapon specific to the battle.

Start with one of your pet sins and go through scripture to find a verse that speaks to you with power. The same verse won’t have the same effect on everyone, nor will it necessarily apply to every temptation. When you find one, write it in the space beneath the specific sin or temptation you’re trying to fight. 

I recommend selecting a verse for each specific issue. For example, if you struggle with lust and a penchant for foul language, choose two different verses. Why? Because there’s power in knowing you’ve selected a weapon specific to the battle.

These are the weapons you will turn to when that monster rears its head.

Related: Armor of God 101: Unlock Your Gear For Battle

Step 3: Inoculate

We typically use the term “inoculate” in reference to the administration of vaccinations. The literal definition of inoculate is “to introduce immunologically active material (such as an antibody or antigen) into especially in order to treat or prevent a disease.”

I think that’s rather appropriate in our battle plan for temptation, don’t you think?

Now that you’ve found your go-to verse, you’re going to inoculate yourself with it. 

• Memorize it. Force it into your brain until you can recall it as quickly as your name, address, and social security number. 
• Post it. Write it down and tape it to your bathroom mirror, your bedroom ceiling, the dashboard in your car—wherever it is that you need to remember it most. Don’t hide it. And if someone else sees it? Great! They can benefit from seeing the Word of God, too.
• Speak it. The more you say this verse, the more ingrained it will become in your psyche, which is exactly what you want.

Step 4: Go to War

A sword hanging from a belt might give a warrior a mighty and formidable vibe, but unless he pulls it out, it does him absolutely zilch in battle.

You need to pull out your sword! 

Cling to it with both hands. Pray on it. Ask God to change your heart and make you strong in battle. He promises to be there with you. 

Hold him to his promise!

VERSES TO GET YOU STARTED

If you’ve been reading your Bible regularly for some time, you might already have a verse or two in mind. But sometimes the most powerful verse for a given situation is one you’ve never given much mind to before. Open your Bible and go for a treasure hunt. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 is a popular verse about temptation, as is Matthew 26:41. But here are a few lesser-known swords to help you fight your battle against temptation:

Sometimes the most powerful verse for a given situation is one you’ve never given much mind to before.

• Psalm 37:4: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
• 1 Peter 5:10: And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
• Psalm 3:3: But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
• Romans 7:24-25: What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
• Hebrews 12:1-2: ​​Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 
• Romans 8:9: You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. 
• Romans 6:14: For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
• Galatians 5:22-23:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 
• Psalm 73:23-24: Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
• Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
• Psalm 34:7: The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

RESIST THE DEVIL—AND WATCH HIM FLEE

The above list is only a sprinkling of verses to help you battle temptation. There are sooooooo many more. Open your Bible and create your own battle plan for temptation!

Further Resources

• What to Do When You Struggle With Temptation
• 8 Bible Passages to Stop Sin in Its Tracks
• Warning: Control Your Thoughts Now, Before They Control You