The tension we experience is all about the temptation that we get ourselves into. We have repented, we want to serve the Lord. We have made resolutions, promises etc.  But now we are faced with another path to take, “at least temporarily”,we say to ourselves, certainly not permanently.  “Why not give in this one more time” we hear a voice from within saying. Who’s voice?  Its satan or one of his workers trying their very best to shipwreck your faith.  Will he succeed?  Will you be able to resist?  “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” the holy scriptures tell us.

Here we are, remember I told you this was not going to be easy? Remember I told you this was going to be the hardest thing you have done in your life? Remember?  Well here we are and I wish I could somehow be there with you to help you through this dark and dreadful valley of the shadow of death. But the truth of the matter is, it’s all on you, its Mano v Mano you verses the spiritual forces of darkness of this age.  Its David vs Goliah and you can win this battle. You can kick satans butt. How you say? Keep reading dear reader, there is a way.

What do I mean by the point of tension? It is that dreadful feeling you get when temptation hovers over you. You really don’t think there is a way out, you feel trapped, that you gotta cave in, that there is no other choice.

Let me say, there is a way out and there is another choice and no you are not trapped. Those are all lies. Christ, the power of God lives in you, remember? Greater is He who lives in you than he who lives in the world. Yes I get it, you are not greater than your adversary but who says you have to fight the devil? Of course you don’t, Christ will fight all of your battles for you. Jesus said he would not leave us as orphans but would come to us in the form of the Holy Spirit.

But here is the catch, He will abide in your life motionless, on standby, waiting, it is your move. He is not gonna override your free will, it is decision time and you are the one who is gonna make the decision, fight or flight. Or what I should say is trust in Him or yield to your sin. And let me just say here that you need to be careful you don’t think that you can say to yourself, “Well, maybe this time I will yield to my sin and next time I will put my trust in Christ for deliverance, I will mix it up a little bit, after all He doesn’t expect me to be perfect.” A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. I am warning you, don’t go there, that is a blueprint for disaster.

I am spending a whole chapter on this because the point of tension is where you are going to sink or swim with Christ. This is where you may get a little wobbly. None of us are perfect and if you are going to fail it is exactly at this moment. It is an exact moment in time when you make that fatal decision to sin against the Most High God. This is not easy, how many times have I said that already.

Time to put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally. Talk to him, tell him you want his help, cling to him and don’t let go. Do not let go until he delivers you. Remember he is under no obligation to answer your prayer instantly, he will come and deliver you quickly, he won’t be dragging his feet, he will deliver you quickly but not instantly so hang on and don’t let go. That is what faith is all about.

If you will do that you will see the power of God at work in your life. You will see the power of God working for you. For now your Savior who has been patiently waiting for you to call on him, (remember He will not do anything for you until you call on Him because He respects your free will) but now that you have called on him to help you and deliver you and save you from this one single temptation here He comes. And believe me when I tell you he will come in great and awesome power and will lift you up out of that miry clay that you have fallen into. You will be delivered. 

What is is gonna feel like to be delivered?You are not gonna hear any noise, you will not feel a mighty blowing wind, no lightening, no thunder, no electric shock. Nothing. “So silently, so silently the wondrous gift is given, so God imparts to human hearts the blessing of his heaven.” That is a quote from “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.” So, yeah, you are not gonna feel a thing, nothing except for this one little difference, the temptation will be gone. Gone! Now would be a good time to thank Him and praise Him for what He has done for you. And for crying out loud, stay away from this particular sin as much as you possible can. You are gonna face this battle again and again but try to minimize the situations where you run into it. And also let me just say that these powerful temptations will get weaker and weaker and this whole process will get easier and easier. If you have fallen into a deep sin habit it is gonna be rough at first. Jesus never promised us a rose garden, it is more like a battle field, He is the captain of our salvation. You are a foot soldier.

Nest chapter we will discuss in detail the endurance aspect of this trial. Very important, the Bible says a lot about endurance, do a word search and you will see.