I woke up in the middle of the night again yesterday with a weird image in my head - a game of tug of war. I felt compelled to write down what the Spirit told me about it. I haven't edited it much - this message is sobering in parts but encouraging at the same time.

 

I do hope it gives you a new perspective on the real battle behind temptation and what it takes to win.

 

***

In temptation - just imagine a game.  It is a tug-of-war. On one side of the rope is your Spirit man and on the other side, your flesh man.

And there is you - standing on the sidelines and watching it all.

 

Your flesh man is confident. For years, these matches have been no contest. Why? Because you have always joined the game on the flesh man's side, getting behind him to pull against your Spirit man.

You were held captive by the flesh man. When he called you to his side, you felt like you had no other choice but to go.

And the truth is, before you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you didn't really have a chance. Willpower wasn't enough to fight him.

 

All of these and perhaps others I have not named were the flesh man's temptations for you.

But now, you have a choice.

When you accepted Jesus as your savior, a different Spirit come to live inside of you, to guide and to comfort you. The Holy spirit reminds you that Jesus' blood covers your sins and you are forgiven. When you realize that you have been forgiven much, you can love much. The bible says that others will know that you are Jesus' disciples by your love (John 13:35)

The Spirit tells you that you don't have to obey the flesh man anymore.

 

These are the gifts the Spirit man has for you. So this time when the tug-of-war starts and you are watching, remember that you have a choice.

When the flesh man calls, you don't have to join his team anymore. Yes, the flesh man is strong and he is smug. But no matter how strong he is, he can never win the tug-of-war without you joining his team.

You are the deciding factor in who wins the game.

Decide to switch sides - join the Spirit man's team. It's a tough war. You may get bruised, have muscle soreness, endure rope burns on your hands. The flesh man pulls hard! It's uncomfortable to listen to him try to seduce you into coming back over to his side. And when his seduction tactics don't work, he tries to taunt you - telling you how weak you are and it is only a matter of time before you are back on his side.

 

You decide in your head that you are going to focus on the win. So you pull with the Spirit man, enduring the flesh man's painful words. It seems like the tug-of-war goes on for an eternity.

But the truth is - the game has a built-in time limit - 10 minutes.

That is how long the average temptation lasts.

 

If you can just endure the Spirit man's words and pull with your Spirit man for 10 minutes, you two are destined to win the game together.

Your flesh man will be defeated. Victory is sweet.

 

But like Arnold Schwarzenegger, the flesh man will be back. He doesn't like to lose and he has a long history of winning in your life. He is pumped up with steroids. That's right...the flesh man is not above cheating to win the game!

He will constantly try to get you to forget the importance of the game. He'll tell you it doesn't matter if you join his team - just this one time, it won't hurt.

 

However, every time you join his side you boost his ego 10-fold.

The next time you are tempted, see the tug-of-war in your mind. You can't be neutral, you must pick a side. Again, you are the factor in deciding who wins.

Choose to join your Spirit man's team. And together you will win!

 

Be blessed in health, healing, and wholeness,

Kimberly Floyd
Certified Wellness Coach
Author of the 'Take Back Your Temple' ebook
http://www.takebackyourtemple.com/book