Unstoppable Resistance
December 18
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
Lindsay wasn’t your normal sixth grader. Even now she was planning her Valedictorian address…something that would, in six more years, come to pass. To this point in her scholastic career, Lindsay had not missed a single day of school…for any reason.
She was proud of her unblemished attendance record. Through childhood diseases and the common cold, she had pushed herself, not allowing sickness and personal discomfort to hinder her education…or that shiny record.
But this morning her daddy figured the streak might be in jeopardy because the face that greeted him was anything but bright and cheery. Daddy’s little girl looked pasty white. “Hey, Poodie. Whatsamatter?” he asked in concern.
“I’m okay,” came her brief reply.
“You sick?” he asked, placing his hand on her forehead to see if she was running a fever.
“No!” she blurted. “I’m fine and I’m going to school,” she proclaimed. And with that she went in the bathroom where she quietly forced herself to throw up, getting rid of the nausea, and got ready for school…something Daddy wouldn’t find out about for a few years.
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Drastic? Perhaps. Dedicated? Most definitely! The point is that Lindsay put up more than a casual resistance to sickness and discomfort in order to reach her goal. She was determined not to give in to the temptation to stay home.
What a great example of how to approach today’s text.
Lindsay did not then, nor has she ever suffered from an eating disorder. Her actions were born out of a deep desire to achieve a perfect attendance record upon graduation. She succeeded.
Understanding we will not do it perfectly, we are to actively pursue holiness…never giving an inch to the enemy. We are not to give nonchalant lip service to our temptations.
Paul said in Philippians 3: 12, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
When the enemy visits you with temptation, let the power of Jesus Christ take hold of you and press on in unstoppable resistance!
Prayer
“I need Your strength, Lord Jesus. Take hold of my life and my will and give me the power to resist the enemy. Amen.”
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