The question was asked last night at church, “How can staying humble keep you from sinning?” We began to discuss how when you think you’re above sinning that’s when you’re at the most risk. Each one of us has sinned and will sin. None of us are perfect or are capable of living a life without sinning. There are things we can do to help ourselves from making sin a habit in our lives though.
One of the ways you can help to keep yourself from sin is by reading and understanding God’s Word. I Peter 5:9 tells us to withstand the devil. The Amplified version says, “Be firm in faith against his onset – rooted, established, strong, immovable and determined.” When we have our roots in God’s Word, we recognize the truth from lies. When temptation arises, we recognize it and combat it with the Word of God. That’s how Jesus fought temptation, and that’s how we should too.
That same chapter reminds us that the devil is searching for someone to devour. He’s not waiting idly by for us to slip up and fall. He’s stalking us, staying hidden until the right time. He wants to pounce on us when we least expect it in order to cause us to sin and to bring guilt to us. Peter described him as a lion and that’s a great metaphor of how he hunts us down as his prey. He’s not content with you sinning. He wants to devour you, your life, your testimony a d your hope.
That’s why in verse 8 he told us to be alert, “vigilant and cautious at all times.” We shouldn’t let our guard down. We should always be on the lookout for temptations that would come in and seek to destroy us. We shouldn’t think we’re above being tempted in certain things. That’s where the humility comes in to play. When we’re humble, we don’t think of ourselves higher than we should. We recognize our weaknesses and move about cautiously.
Casting Crowns has a song out called “Slow Fade”. It warns us that our enemy doesn’t just come in and get us to jump into a life of sin. It’s a slow fade from where God wants us to that life away from Him. The enemy comes in and chips away little by little to draw us away. Before we know it, we have left a life of complete surrender to God and have walked into a life that is a slave to sins. That happens when we aren’t being alert and vigilant. That happens when we aren’t humble like God called us to be.
I’ve experienced the slow fade in my life. I’ve drifted far from God because I let myself believe one little lie after the other. I walked a long way from where God had intended for me to be. I had let my guard down, thought I was above certain things and found out I wasn’t. Because I did know God, I knew the way home. I sought God’s forgiveness and repented from the life I had begun to live. I walked away from it. I’m still tempted every day. I still mess up and sin, but I’m more vigilant now. I catch the lies a lot faster and move back to where I belong.
You can too. It’s not too late. You’re not too far away. Forgiveness is waiting. Don’t believe the lies any longer. Get in God’s Word. Learn the truth so you can recognize the lies. God’s Word will help you to stay grounded, firm, rooted, established, strong, determined and immovable like Peter said. Don’t become a victim of that lion who is seeking you. Be aware of who is and where he is. When you do, you take away the element of surprise that he counts on and he leaves you.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 