The Fastball

It is 39 years since my father was called to glory. He used to tell this story often. A little boy once went to a local shop to buy something. An old lady was there and when she opened her purse to pay the shopkeeper, the coins fell down and scattered. A one rupee coin rolled and came to rest just next to the boy's feet. A battle raged in the little boy's mind! He quickly shifted his foot a little bit and covered the coin. It was the fastball that bowled him out!

We have all been there some time or other. A quick lie or a temper flare-up or a temptation has caught us like that ‘fastball'. Any amount of determination and any amount of self-discipline cannot overcome sin because sin is so deeply rooted in our nature. This type of overcoming through self-effort is just personal self-discipline; a good thing but not what God offers. Zac Poonan observes two important steps in keeping us from falling into sin. Firstly, we have to recognize that our flesh is weak and secondly, we have to pray earnestly for help!

If we realize that our flesh is weak, then we will run away from temptation and not expose ourselves to danger. Only those who do not realize their weakness will expose themselves to temptation. The Bible says that we should flee! Paul told even a godly man like Timothy to flee from youthful lusts, to flee from the love of money, to flee from idolatry, and to flee from immorality (2 Tim 2:22; 1 Tim 6: 10,11; 1 Cor. 10:14). One would think that someone like Timothy who was a mature believer was not in danger of youthful lusts and immorality, but even he needed to run away! We can save many heartaches in life if only we could just obey that call to flee!

Prayer is also our recognition of that weakness. Everyone prays when they think they are in real trouble. One of the things that Jesus taught us to pray for is, ‘lead us not into temptation'. We are called to pray that way because our flesh is weak. If we realize our weakness, we will not only want to run away from temptation, but we will also pray, 'Lord, please help me. Give me the strength to overcome this weakness'.

My friend, whatever may be the sin we are struggling with today, let us ask God to strengthen us so that we can ‘flee away' and ‘stay away' from It!

Categories: Weekly DevotionalsAuthor: Hephzibah StephenDate: 12th June 2018 Share: newsletterDisplay date: 13th June 2018

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