pIt’s true that the power God gives us is enough to do anything (see Philippians 4:13). But what about when we get… distracted? If the narrow path that God leads us on is a corridor filled with doors, getting to the very end without taking a wrong turn is easy when we’re focused. But hearing/smelling/seeing/imagining what lies behind each of the doors stops us thinking about what’s inside. Get the gist? Those are temptations. Solomon put it this way in Proverbs: ‘My son, if sinful men entice you … do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths’ (1:10,15 NIV). And ‘There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death’ (14:12 NIV). In the moment, opening one of those doors seems like a good idea. Struggling to resist? You’re not the first. Some of the best advice we could give when faced with wandering from God’s will is this: decide beforehand what you’re going to do. Before you’ve even set foot in the day/tempting place, know what you want to do. Paul explains we need to ‘find out what pleases the Lord’ (Ephesians 5:10 NIV). Chances are, you might already have a good idea about what God does and doesn’t want for you. If you know you’re prone to a certain temptation, decide *now* that you don’t want it, for the sake of staying close to God./p
pWhat now?br /
If you’ve found yourself sidetracked lately, ask God for forgiveness and ask Him what He wants you to do. If you feel on track, seriously good on you, but spend some time in prayer today, the Ephesians 5:10 way./p