Run For It!
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ~2 Timothy 2:22
Have you ever been in a situation so perilous that you were told to make a run for it? People who live on the coastline of an earthquake-prone area know that when a tsunami siren sounds, anyone near the shoreline needs to make a run for it as quickly as possible to higher ground to avoid being swept away by the quickly moving waters. This morning, we want to be reminded why we need to make a run for it from unrestrained desires.
There is the entrapment.
Youthful lusts are strong desires that first manifest in our life when we are young. They are desires that would lead us into sins of passion and relationships that are outside of God’s will for us. When youthful lusts kick in, our thoughts are inflamed, our resistance to temptation declines, and our probability of falling into regretful sin increases. Youthful lusts have gotten many men and women in trouble. They are the desires that took men like Judah, Samson, and David down. They are the desires that have led to the fall of once great Christians. Youthful lusts can lead a person to think and desire things that hold them captive to their power.
There is the escape.
The escape is simple: flee or run! Joseph was enticed by a very beautiful woman who was the wife of his employer. Her seductive clothing, hair, and words could take down any man. Joseph fell into her pathway. He repeatedly rejected her seductive requests by telling her that he could not do such wickedness. However, her seductions became stronger each time that he was serving in the house. The day came in which she lay hold of him. When this happened, Joseph fled from her presence as fast as he could. There is only one escape from youthful lusts: run for it! Run as fast as you can and as far away as you can.
There is the ensuing.
To keep youthful lusts at bay, we must follow after four virtues that are proven to help us. First, follow righteousness or holy living. Second, determine to live for God, day in and day out. Third, live by faith! By this, I mean to work out your faith through good works. Lastly, love like God loves. This is true charity. True charity loves people just like God does. We must pursue a life of peace. Many times, youthful lusts occur between people who are close friends. When sin occurs, these relationships are sorely breached and, many times, never repaired. Stay focused on a prayer life that seeks repeated answers from God. To call on the Lord out of a pure heart is a foremost criterion for our prayers to be answered. When there is a desire to have victory over youthful lusts, we must run towards the things that please God and run away from our desires.
God has given us one fail-safe means against youthful lusts: run for it! When you find yourself in a squeeze by youthful lusts, run fast, run hard, and run away. Don’t try to stand toe-to-toe and eyeball-to-eyeball with youthful lusts. Run for it!
Have a temptation-proof God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Isaiah 54-58