The truth is that none of can overcome any sinful desire or habit in and of our own strength. Fortunately, "all things are possible for Christ who strengthens us!"
1 Cor 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
It makes absolutely no sense in trying to battle the desires of flesh by ourselves. Why? Because you are the one desiring to sin. In other words, you are the enemy. That is why we must learn to trust in & rely on the Holy Spirit during these difficult moments. There is hope for "His strength is made perfect in our weakness". (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Romans 8:5-13
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those
who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded
is death, but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. Because the carnal mind
is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
"But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ
is in you, the body
is dead because of sin, but the Spirit
is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
James 4:7-8
"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
2 Peter 1:3-4
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
1 John 2: 1-6
"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."
1 John 3:1-9
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure."
" Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him"
"Dear children, do not let anyone
lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will
continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God."
1 John 3: 19-24
"This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him."
I have found that the secret to overcoming the sin in my own life is learning to love God more than sin & self. Please understand that Christ loved you so much that He not only gave his life so that you can be forgiven of past mistakes but also he is willing to intervene on your behalf, through the person of the Holy Spirit, when tempted with present and future temptations. Sin is choice, one you don't have to make when you learn trust in and rely on the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul calls this "walking in the Spirit". John the Beloved calls it "abiding in Christ". However I believe one of the best representations of this in scripture can be found in Psalm 91:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence the walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefor will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
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