As a young adult, it’s very common that someone finds themselves facing sexual temptation often. So, how is overcoming sexual temptation possible in a young adult’s daily life?
Honestly, overcoming sexual temptation is not an easy journey. It’s mainly because there are so many open doors that the enemy can sneak in and lure us away.
Today, we are going to go through five steps that will help us avoid sexual temptation.
Let’s pray before we continue:
“God of our Salvation, we trust Your name. Father God, please teach us Your ways so that we can know You better. LORD, You are the God of our purity. LORD, please watch over us because Your Word says that apart from You, we are nothing. We pray all of this in Your son’s name, Jesus. Amen!”
Now, let’s take a look at how overcoming sexual temptation can be done by following the five-step process:
1. Acknowledge your weakness
In the book of Psalms, we find multiple verses that discuss how a young person can maintain purity. In the following verses, we see how someone was asking God to lead them on the right path.
"Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence."
-Psalms 27:11-12 NKJV
To emphasize the verses we just read, let’s look at a story that illustrates how someone acknowledged their weakness to God while facing sexual temptation.
A few years ago, there once was a young woman whose heart was determined to please God. The Holy Spirit was teaching her godly principles for remaining pure.
Being a new convert for only a couple of years, she was still trying to overcome her past. Therefore, she stood firm and was determined to stay away from any youthful lustful temptation.
One time, however, the enemy brought a young man into her life with the intention of causing her to commit adultery. At first, it seemed like a harmless friendship with someone who seemed nice and well-intentioned.
However, as the days went by, the young woman began to notice some red flags in that friendship. Then one day, the young woman received a vivid and clear warning from the Holy Spirit to cut all ties with the young man.
So one day, she finally decided to cut all ties with that person. She asked the Holy Spirit to help her make that decision and walk away from that friendship for good, no turning back.
Of course, there was some retaliation coming from the young man. But with the Holy Spirit’s help, she stood firm and clung to God through the entire process. As we can see from the story above, when we face temptations, we must cry out to God for His rescue immediately.
Please don’t hide your weaknesses from God, because He already knows what’s lurking inside your heart. We will never be able to overcome temptations on our own. The longer we wait to call for rescue, the worse our situation will become.
Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit who can rescue us right on time. Therefore, He will also show us a way out of the temptation we are facing at the moment.
2. Don’t lack common sense
The next step in overcoming sexual temptation is possessing common sense. To elaborate on this step, let’s read some verses from Proverbs 7.
"7 I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense. 8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.
10 The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart. 13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,
14 "I've just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows. 15 You're the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!"
-Proverbs 7:7-8, 10, 13-15, NLT
As we read the passage above, some of us may wonder how someone can put themselves in a similar situation in the first place.
Not only did the young, naive man know the type of woman he was associating himself with, but it also happened in public. It seemed as though he didn’t care about his reputation.
So what does it mean to lack common sense when it comes to our topic of the day? It simply means that someone is walking down a crooked path, expecting good results in the end.
For instance, nowadays, someone might be watching inappropriate videos on their phone. However, they are still hoping to have a renewed mindset by the end of the day.
In all aspects of life, we will always have to reap what we sow. As we are learning the strategies of Overcoming sexual temptation, let us not lack common sense like the young did.
If you would like to learn more about how to keep yourself pure, click the link to read more.
3. Stay out of the way
There is a well-known incident in the Bible about a young man named Joseph. Joseph went through a very compromising season of his life when his Master’s wife asked him to fornicate with her.
We find the details of the story in this passage below:
"7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.
9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her."
-Genesis 39:7-10 NIV
As we are seeing from the passage we just read, one of the best ways to overcome sexual temptations is by staying out of the way.
While you are reading this post, if there is anything that may be stirring up lustful desires in you, please run away from it. These verses offer a practical example to follow to avoid trouble.
As we saw in Joseph’s story, all these incidents happened in secret. Actually, there isn’t a passage within this story that shows how Potiphar’s wife asked Joseph to sleep with her while others were listening.
However, despite the many opportunities for him to face this dilemma day in and day out, Joshep refused to even be alone in the same room with her. Verse 10 clearly tells us that “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.”
So how about us? Or let’s make this question personal: “How about you? Do you stay out of the way only when people are watching, or are you choosing to remain a young man/woman of integrity when no one is watching, all the same?”
From this day forward, let’s make Joseph’s practical example a learning lesson and a great way of overcoming sexual temptation.
4. Seek wise counsel from your Pastor
"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth"
-Malachi 2:7 NIV
One of the most excellent tools for overcoming sexual temptation is by reaching out to your Pastor. Having a Pastor guiding or helping you through the process of becoming pure is key.
Some people do believe in having an accountability friend who can walk with them through tough times. Unfortunately, they often choose someone who is struggling with the same sin themselves. In other words, it may seem like a blind man leading another blind man.
So the benefits of having a Pastor as your accountability person are that they will spiritually lead you through the process. Not only will you pour out your heart to them as you share your struggles, but you will also be fed spiritually.
Note: Before you start walking through the journey of seeking counsel from your Pastor, please take time and pray that the Holy Spirit guide you straight to a specific Pastor from your Local Church you should be talking to.
If this will be your first time seeking counsel from a Pastor, please feel free to contact a Pastor for the type of assistance you need. When possible, a young man should speak with a male Pastor for help. And for a young woman to be a female Pastor.
So, overcoming sexual temptation is not an easy journey at first. That’s why it’s essential to have a Pastor who is more spiritually mature than you are, so they can walk with you and provide spiritual guidance.
I once read a story of a young man who was currently struggling with sexual temptation. At the moment, he was driving on his way back to his apartment.
The temptations became so overwhelmingly strong to the point where he had to pull over and call his Pastor, who was also his soul/spiritual father.
During the phone call, his Pastor asked him to find a safe place to park so that they could pray together. The young man and his Pastor both began praying in tongues for a long time. And as they prayed together, the strong urges went away instantly.
If you don’t have a Pastor or a soul/spiritual father who guides you in your everyday walk with Christ, please make it a priority to pray for it today.
Ask God to reveal to you a specific Church He wants you to be part of, if you don’t have a Church yet. And if you have a Church, please speak to your Senior Pastor or another specific Pastor from your Local Church.
With a Pastor guiding you along the way, the journey to purity becomes smooth. Also, your Pastor should help you during those struggles using practical Biblical principles.
5. Pass on the truth of the instructions you received.
The last best way of overcoming sexual temptation is by passing on the proper instruction that you received so far. Whenever you get the chance, please speak to other young people about the instructions you received.
By doing so, not only are you reminding yourself how to stay on the right path. But you are also preventing others from falling into sexual sin.
As we preach to others the truth about avoiding sexual temptation. Pray that we won’t disqualify ourselves by living a life that’s the opposite of what we preach.
The verses below talk about it in more detail:
"True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. -Malachi 2:6 NIV "Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." -1 Corinthians 9:26-27 NIV
Let’s use the verses above as our guidance as we remind ourselves of how to stay on the right path.
Conclusion
As we conclude today’s topic, let’s make the verse below our daily reminder of the importance of overcoming sexual temptation.
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman."
-Job 31:1 NLT
Let this worship song, Back to Life by Bethel Music, help you as you walk through this journey.
I also pray that the LORD will put a shield of protection over our physical eyes. So that we can look at others with a pure heart. And to never get tempted beyond our capability to overcome it. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen!
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