BREAKING FREE FROM PERSISTENT TEMPTATIONS (Acknowledgment - Rick Warrens Series Breaking Free)- Breaking Free Part 1 (Romans 7:15-24)
o Were calling this series “Breaking Free, breaking free areas in our lives that block us from fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives.
o God wants to heal our inner wounds. But we need each other to break free from our past. Many of us have carried secret hurts – a sin, a habit, a hurt, regret, a fear, a worry.
o Here is a big issue people tell me. Pastor, I start out with great intentions to change my ways. This year will be different. But it never is. I always fall back into my same old bad habits.
o I really want to do right but I always end up disappointing myself and God.
o I’ve tried everything – prayer, resolutions, self-help tapes, even Dr.Phil. Why am I so unhappy? Why do I do things that I know are bad for me? I’m very discouraged and I need help.”
o If were honest we will admit we have all felt that way. The things you want to do you end up not doing. The things you know are bad for you, you end up doing. You’re caught in what I call the cycle of failure. It goes like this: Good intentions, action, failure – guilt. Then the cycle repeats itself.
o The Apostle Paul struggled with it; so do we. Why does that happen? Because it takes more than good intentions to change. If I could change from good intentions I would weigh 200 pounds and be buff. It takes far more than desire to change my life.
o Today were going to talk about “Breaking Free from Persistent Temptations.”
o Maybe its out of control anger; maybe its fear that tends to dominate your life; worry or resentment. For some it is lust and sexual thoughts. For some it is greed. It could be jealousy.
o Your unsure about how to break the cycle.
o Paul obviously felt this way, the Apostle Paul. Romans 7:15 “I don’t understand myself. For I really want to do what’s right but I don’t do it. Instead I do the very thing I hate.” How do I break free from persistent temptations?
o Here are the steps to have victory over persistent temptation.
1. Predetermine my pattern of temptation.
o What do I mean by that? Every one of us is unique. I thought about that when I was in Ottawa. There were thousands of people, and not one of them was the same.
o We all have the same common temptations. But Satan attacks us in different ways.
o For instance food is a huge temptation for me. I have a highly developed sense of taste. That is an area that affects me and can drive me.
o When I travel I want to go to nice restaurants. Now that is not even an issue with my wife. That is one way in which we are so different.
o I have discovered that I can handle the food issue if I have healthy snacks I will not feel out of control. Then I am not such a bear to be around.
o We all justify these things. I used to say I have hypoglycemia, which I do, a medical condition where your blood sugar level drops before meals. If you have hypoglycemia then you become very moody if you don’t eat.
o Now I would justify that and be very moody around my wife and children, particularly after work if there was not a huge meal ready the moment I walked in the door. So I said that is not sin in my life, until my accountability partner, Fred Schuman, challenged me. He said that is sin in your life. I said really Fred.
o Fred said you’re justifying your bad moods at the expense of other people around you. You need a healthy snack in the middle of the afternoon. That will help. This is a sin in your life and it is not fair to your family. I discovered something. Fred was right. I needed to change. The Apostle Paul wrote ‘look not only to your own needs but also to the needs of others.’
o Some of you know that you get on Facebook and your there for hours. There goes your prayer and Bible reading time; for others its television.
o We need to know our pattern of temptation. The devil precisely knows how to trip us up. If you do not know what tempts you – your going to be very vulnerable to a fall.
o Look at the five questions on your outline. When am I most tempted? Where am I most tempted? Who is with me when I’m most tempted? What temporary benefits do I get if I give in? And, How do I feel right before I’m tempted? Let’s look at these in a little more detail.
o First, Proverbs 5:6, “The immoral person does not care about the path of life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t even realize where it leads.” If you don’t know your pattern of temptation you’re headed for destruction. That’s why Lamentations 3:40 says this, “Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living and reorder our lives under God.” If you can identify the patterns that tempt you, then you can predict the problems in advance and you can avoid those situations.
o But first you ask, “When am I most tempted?” Is temptation stronger for you at certain times of the day? For instance on Monday morning when you go back to work or school, you may be tempted to be frustrated, short tempered, irritated with people because it’s Monday morning.
o The second question is, “Where am I most tempted?” Are you tempted most at work with that good looking person? Or maybe when you’re looking at television or movies. Or when you’re in front of that magazine rack. If you know it tempts you, you just don’t go there. Real simple. If you don’t want to get burned stay away from the fire. Don’t go down that aisle where those magazines are.
o Some of you are most tempted when you’re sitting in front of a computer. And the temptation to pornography is so great.
o Ascertain where you get tempted most.
o The third question is, “Who am I with when I’m most tempted?” For me it is when I am alone. When you’re alone, you think nobody’s watching. Some of you, its when you’re out with friends or a group of people.
o For some temptations come most when you’re with your family. Some of you say mean things to your family that you would never say to anybody else. You would never treat anybody at church that way.
o And then you need to ask the question, “What temporary benefits do I get when I give in?”
o Remember it is not a sin to be tempted. It’s a sin to give in to temptation. Even Jesus was tempted.
o What payoff do I get when I sin? Every negative behavior has some sort of pay off. The Bible says sin is fun, did you know that? You get short term pleasure and long term pain (Heb. 11:25).
o So you need to ask yourself what am I getting out of this that causes me to keep doing it? What’s the payoff in this?
o Sometimes people give in to temptation for excitement. They’re just bored with life and they just want some excitement in their life.
o So you go to the bar on Friday or Saturday evening and drink and party. You know it is a sin in your life. It is bad for your health, your wallet, and a poor example to your children and the people you work with. They look at your life and think ‘not much difference between yours and mine.’
o So you go and get drunk and act really stupid because you’re looking for excitement.
o Ask yourself, how do I feel when I give in? Do I feel more loved, accepted, and popular? You need to know your pattern of temptation. How Satan hooks you.
o The last question you ask is, how do I feel right before I’m tempted?
o Some people are most vulnerable to temptation when they feel lonely or bored. I have a friend who told me when he cannot sleep at night he gets up and watches things he has no business watching.
o The point is once you determine How, Where, When, Why, and What’s the most typical pattern – and there is a pattern in your life, it’s a pattern and you need to be aware of it – then here’s step two.
2. Plan to avoid it.
o It’s not rocket science folks. Plan to avoid the areas where you’re most tempted. Then set some boundaries in your life that keep you from those situations.
o Proverbs 4:26-27 “Plan carefully what you do. Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don’t go one step off the right way.” If you just keep your eyes focused, don’t get distracted.
o For thirteen years I worked with 150 social workers, mostly younger women who would dress to the hilt. Do you know who they would go after? Married men. They said married men were stable and that attracted them.
o I had a private office. Do you know what my policy was? When they came in I rarely closed the door. I did not want anyone to think something was going on behind closed doors.
o Secondly I never went to lunch alone with a woman of the opposite sex. That is the same reason I do not counsel women alone; I am here alone. If you think the temptations are not the same for pastors you have your head in the sand; you’re just misinformed.
o I met with a pastor in Calgary for lunch. It was supposed to be a job interview. He broke down and wept for over an hour. Although his church was about 1,000 strong he said he had not one person to share with. I did not care about the job after that day, I was just glad to be there for him.
o The temptations are strong and we need to set boundaries. If I need to set boundaries so do you. “Plan carefully what you do, avoid evil and walk straight ahead.”
o Temptation always begins with a natural desire in your life. Sex is a natural God given desire. Sex is not evil. Sex is holy. We have taken a holy thing and warped it. Just last week in the state of California the judges dismantled traditional marriage in a 4 to 3 vote. Their 120 page document didn’t have even one reference to God. Marriage and sex is a gift of God. But anything that’s a gift of God can be abused or misused or perverted.
o That is one of the reasons we changed our constitution; marriage is to be one man for one woman. We changed our constitution to make a clear statement on traditional marriage, one man for one woman. If this church changes that stand then I will resign as your pastor. That is a non-negotiable for me.
o So your sexuality, your sex drive – thank God for it. It is a natural drive to want to be loved. It’s a natural desire to eat. It’s a natural desire to sleep. Nothing wrong with sleep. But if your Rip Van Winkle it is out of control.
o But any out of control desire is destructive. A fire in the fireplace can warm your house. But a fire out of place can destroy this community.
o Build boundaries in your life. Once you know the patterns you’re used to falling into then you say, “I’m just not going to put myself in this situation.” That’s the smart way to do it.
Here’s step three in overcoming persistent temptation.
3. I must protect the condition of my heart.
o Proverbs 4:23 says this “Above all else, guard your heart. For it affects everything you do.” Circle “guard your heart.”
o Stop and pray ‘God what is going on inside of my heart. You don’t start by tying to change your behavior by sheer will power: “I’m not going to do it any more. I’m not going to do it any more! I’m not going to do it anymore!” Willpower doesn’t work, have you learned that?
o When I try to change by willpower I get tired and give up.
o If you want to change a persistent pattern in your life focus on what you want not on what you don’t want. If your drinking is out of control and you think ‘I have to stop drinking’ what are you focused on – alcohol.’
o Instead discover what is going on inside of me that causes me to want to do this? You’ve got to do a spiritual X-Ray of your heart.
o I want you to take a little survey, a little quiz. Ten questions about ten different areas of your life. I want you to circle a number as we go through these. Then we’re going to add up the numbers and I’m going to interpret them for you.
o Physical condition. Zero meaning really bad off. Four being perfect. First, am I more physically exhausted or am I more energetic and in shape? I’m talking about this week, right now. If you say I am tired all the time, give yourself a zero. If you say, I’m in tiptop condition, give yourself a three or a four.
o Emotions. Are you discouraged about your life right now? Do you feel pessimistic? Or, on the other hand, do you feel encouraged about your life and feel very optimistic? Give yourself a score from zero to four.
o Lifestyle. Do you feel bored or discontented with your life? If you’re bored or discontented give yourself a low score. If you say I feel challenged and contented by the life I’m living right now give yourself a high score.
o Spiritual life. If you’d say, right now I’m feeling spiritually dry, I don’t feel really close to God right now. Then give yourself a low score. On the other hand if you’d say, I’m really growing in my faith give yourself a four.
o Relationships. If you’d say the people that I love right now I feel distant from give yourself a low score. If you say, those that I love the most in my relationships, their near and I get to spend a lot of time together with them, circle a high score.
o Future. Am I feeling insecure or unsure about my future? Or am I feeling very secure and very confident about my future? Give yourself a zero to a four there.
o Hurts. Have you been deeply wounded? Are you carrying a deep hurt? Give yourself a low score, a zero or one or something like that. If you feel like, I’m loved and I feel understood by the people in my life give yourself a high score.
o Bitterness. The next one is are you secretly bitter or holding a grudge or resentment against anyone? You say, “I can’t forgive them. I’m angry and I can’t forgive them.” Give yourself a low score. On the other hand if you say I feel like I’ve forgiven every person who’s hurt me in my life give yourself a four.
o Contentment. Am I feeling more sad about life or more happy about life right now. Rate yourself on that.
o Relationships. Am I feeling more alienated and unsupported by my relationships? In other words I’m having conflicts with people in my life. Or do I feel close to them and supported? In other words do you have supportive friends or are you detached and distant?
o Add up your numbers right now. This has a profound influence on how you handle temptation.
o Scored 30-40 = Good shape. You’re more resistant to temptation than other people. Praise Jesus.
o Scored 20-30 = Big yellows caution light flashing in your life saying be careful. You are vulnerable for a fall. You’re not as strong as you think you are.
o Scored 10-20 points, my friend, you are in serious danger. You are headed for an emotional or spiritual or physical crack up. You are very vulnerable. You don’t have much resistance.
o Scored 0-10 points you are in crisis mode right now. You need to get a hold of me; get some counseling or to get a referral to get help. Do it today.
o Now ask yourself how long have I been at this level? The longer you’ve been at a lower level the more vulnerable you are.
o Ephesians 4:27 says this “Do not give the devil a foothold.” What does that mean, don’t give the devil a foothold? It’s talking about in your life.
o In World War II after the Japanese took over the entire South Pacific with their army the Marines started to go out and reclaim those islands. The Marines would land on an island and establish a beachhead. A beachhead may be an area of space maybe only two hundred yards wide. But it was just enough space to give them a toehold, a foothold, a beachhead on the island. That way they could fight the enemy not from the ship but from actually on the ground. Then from that beachhead they’d begin to push back on the island taking it a little bit at a time until they took it over. Victory tended to go to the side that established and reinforced its beachhead.
o Spiritually this is what happens when the devil establishes a foothold, a beachhead, in your life. He starts by getting one little area. I can start subtly with discouragement. You naively think everything else in my life is pretty good but this over here is not good. But it’s ok because I’ve contained it to one little area.
o You are so sadly mistaken. Do you think Satan is going to be satisfied with just a beachhead in your life? No. He wants to ruin you. You know the phrase, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” Satan hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. He wants to destroy you. Jesus said, I have come that you might have life. The more you depend on Jesus the more you know what it means to really live.
o Satan wants us to do evil because that’s the opposite of living. So he’s going to try to establish a foothold and take it over little bit by little bit.
o What’s the most common foothold that Satan gets in our life? The answer is any negative emotion.
o Jealousy can give Satan a foothold in your life. Envy can be a foothold in your life. Do you get envious of other people? How much money they make? Fear can be a foothold. Resentment can be a foothold. Lust can be a foothold. Anger can be a foothold. Boredom can be a foothold.
o When you mix several of these heart conditions together they’re very potent. For instance, say you’re tired, you’re frustrated, hurt, and you’re lonely. Watch how Satan works. He whispers ‘you deserve better than your husband.’ You deserve a wild night on the town. You deserve a little release, a little pleasure. You start listening to that voice. Then were ready for a fall. So that’s why you have to consider the condition of your heart.
4. The fourth step is you pray for God’s help. If you’re not talking to God regularly you have no protection against temptation. That’s what Jesus said, Matthew 26:41. Jesus gave this advice to His followers. “Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you.”
o Pray it immediately. You pray it in the middle of the circumstance. When you’re going through it. The Bible says in Psalm 50:15 “Call to Me when trouble comes. I will save you.” When trouble comes.
o Learn one word prayers: Help! That’s a great one word prayer. Just say God I need help. And you do it when the trouble comes.
o If you’re at your business and the customer is neurotic you don’t think I should add this to my prayer list for my devotion time tomorrow morning. That’s not going to work. You have to pray a prayer for help in that moment.
o When you do, God answers. The Psalms are full of prayers of deliverance.
o Jesus is sympathetic to your needs. Hebrews 4 “Jesus understands our weaknesses for He faced all the same temptations that we do and yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy and grace to help us when we need it.”
o Jesus understands because he faced all of the same temptations. Jesus faced temptations of anger, discouragement, lust, pride, all the same temptations. He understands.
o Jesus chose to say no to the temptation and yes to God. You get a glimpse into the heart of Jesus and how He understands the night before He died. He was in the garden of Gethsemane. Some of you remember that in facing the cross the next day He knew the suffering that was going to happen. He prayed a prayer in which He said, “I don’t want to face the cross. But not My will but Your will be done.”
o Since he chose to say no to temptation to give up He can give us that strength to persevere when we feel like quitting.
o Jesus never sinned. So He can help us to overcome temptations in all of our lives.
5. You point your attention elsewhere.
o You change the direction of your thoughts. You refocus on something else. You shift your attention. James 1:14-15 “Temptation is the pull of your own evil thoughts and wishes. These evil thoughts lead to evil action.” Temptation always starts in the mind. So in the end whatever gets your attention gets you.
o If I said to you right now, are you hungry? You might think, well yeah I am a little bit hungry. You’ve been thinking about snacks ever since I talked about food earlier. It has your attention. The more you think about something the stronger the hold it gets on you.
o You don’t fight temptation. You divert your attention to something else. You think about something different. Change your thoughts. The Bible says this in 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We capture every thought and make it obey Christ.” That takes practice but it is possible.
o You cannot control all your circumstances. You certainly cannot control the people in your life. You cannot control the language in the mine. But there is one thing you can control. You can control what you choose to think about it.
o Here is another practical example in my life. I can have one person discouraged about the church; and within ten minutes someone else who is totally encouraging.
o So what do I focus on? I focus on the vision of the church, something positive. I do not go into a resistance mode; rather I choose to refocus.
o Lets look at Jesus temptations. The Bible does not say to resist temptation.
o Satan said to Jesus “Why don’t You take these stones and turn them into bread?” Jesus didn’t say, “I’m going to resist the hunger, resist the hunger, resist the hunger.” No, instead He turned His attention to God’s word and to God. He quoted scripture that he had memorized.
o When temptation calls and you see it in front of you go and do something else. If you divert your attention, if you ignore it, you will weaken it.
o One of my own temptations is feelings of inadequacy and failure. I get to the end of a week and think how did the kingdom advance this week?” Are my messages making a difference? Lord it is insurmountable.
o How are we going to connect with these young people? You know what I found? When I turn my focus back to God and the Bible I am encouraged. God still has a plan. God still has a future. I turn my focus back to God and His word.
o That is the principle of replacement. Romans 12:21 talks about that “Don’t let evil conquer you. But conquer evil with good. Fill your mind with truth. Fill your mind with good thoughts.” The truth is learning new patterns of thinking, it is not easy. It does not come quickly. But by God’s strength it is possible.
o The sixth step if you’re serious about defeating a persistent pattern in your life that has defeated you for years and years you have to take this next step.
6. Pick an accountability partner.
o The reason why most people never break free from their habits is they’re unwilling to do this. Pick an accountability partner. You need somebody else in your life.
o In fact if you’re unwilling to have an accountability partner or be part of a small group, stop kidding yourself, you really don’t want to change.
o The fear of change has you immobilized. People have come for marriage counseling; they come when things are at a crisis. They have been bad for years; everyone knows it and they won’t admit it. Be smart enough to change before the pain becomes that intense. How do you do it? By getting an accountability partner or a HOME group
o Ecclesiastes 4:10-11 “Two are better than one. [Two people] Together if one falls down [like to temptation, stumbles and sins or whatever] the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and fall there’s no one to help him.” And the next verse is “Admit your faults to each other. [That means to your accountability partner] and pray for each other [that’s your accountability partner] so that you may be healed.”
o The fact is God has wired us to need each other.
o What we’re talking about here is called authenticity, when I share my private or personal sin with one other person. Just one other person or your HOME group who will accept you unconditionally and you will accept them.
o When you tell a friend your sin or your struggling they support you; then don’t reject you. They say, “You’re a good egg even if you are a little cracked.” That’s what friends do. That’s what’s called Christian friendship. You need somebody who says I’m on your side and I want to help you break free from it. I’m going to hold you accountable and you hold me. We’ll check up on each other. We’ll encourage each other.
o When you’re honest that’s called authenticity. You’re no longer a phony. You’re real. You’re authentic.
o When that happens three amazing benefits take place in my life.
a. It brings liberation. Jesus said, “When you know the truth the truth sets you free.” When someone says, “I’ve never told this to anybody but I’m going to tell this to you. I fill up with hope on the inside. I know that person is about to experience freedom. Nothing they say surprises me. I have heard it all. God did not send me here to beat you up; he sent me to pray and help you.
o A real friend shows mercy
o Hiding a hurt only intensifies it. When we wear a mask it makes us miserable. We spend all this emotional energy trying to pretend we’re something we’re not. It’s our secret sins that make us sick. . All of a sudden the pressure starts to dissipate when you’ve told one other person about the thing that you’ve never told anybody about.
b. The second thing is it’s empowering. God gives power to us when we humble ourselves. He gives grace to the humble. God says I’m going to give you the power now to change.
o If If I can’t talk about it because it’s too painful or its too shameful or I’m too bitter, if I can’t talk about it, it’s out of control. In fact, if you can’t talk about it it’s controlling you. You don’t control it, it’s controlling you
c. The third thing is that it does is it’s endearing.
o Honesty actually draws that person closer to you instead of repelling them away.
o I am gravitated to people who are authentic.
o Anytime I stand up here and I tell you one of my faults or one of my weaknesses you like me more. You really do. The fact is we like people who just admit it. “Randy doesn’t think he’s some hot shot. He’s just like us. He has the same problems we do. He messes up just like we do. We’re all in the same boat.” If all I did was stand up here and tell you how great I am and how strong I am you’d say, “Well whoopty-do for you! That’s not me. I’m not in that situation. Forget it.” But when you share a weakness, a sin, a struggle, a fault people go, “That’s like me!”
o When John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress he said ‘pray for me that I do not go the way of the world.’ That is honesty. We’ve all got the same sins.
o Following Jesus does not exempt you from temptation? Satan hates your guts. He wants to take you down. He wants to take this church down. He is the real enemy.
o So if you ever hear some Christian say, “I just thank God I haven’t been tempted in twenty-five years.” There’s a word for that – baloney. It’s just not true. You’re going to be tempted the rest of your life.
o But rejoice today. You have been saved by grace because you’ve put your trust in Christ so you forgiven. That’s a big difference.
o The guilt is gone. Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and I accepted that. So salvation and God’s grace in my life means I’ve been forgiven. That’s a big advantage. A big advantage! I have been forgiven.
o The second thing I have is I’ve got church family. We shared our struggles in our Home Group on Wednesday evening. Then we encouraged and prayed for each other.
o We have worked hard to have Calvary as a safe place where you can freely admit you don’t have it all together. The church is not a hotel for saints where they dress up for dress parade. It’s a hospital for sinners. People who say I want to grow. God says that’s the kind of people I want.
o The most common temptations without a doubt are sexual temptations. Why? I don’t know if you’ve figured this out or not but everybody is either a man or a woman. Not everybody is tempted to do drugs, smoke weed, not everybody is tempted to go get drunk and drive drunk. But everybody is either a man or a woman. And Satan tries to get those drives and those desires – good godly drives –perverted, misused or abused.
o But remember this you’ve never gone too far for God’s grace. That brings us to the last step, which is the hope step. It’s the good news step. It’s the faith step.
7. I must persist in believing I can change.
o Here’s the good news. You don’t have to stay the same. Change is possible. And it is never too late to start over.
o How does God take it away? Notice this next verse. “No temptation has come your way is beyond what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down. He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit. He’ll always be there to help you come through that temptation.”
o You say, “Randy, I was in this situation and I was tempted and I couldn’t help it. I just couldn’t help it.” You’re right. That’s why you need Jesus Christ. That’s why you need a Spirit filled life. You don’t have enough power. You need God’s power in your life and you need God’s power through a friend, a Christian friend, who is Jesus in the flesh for you. Because you’re not going to get over it on your own. That is why we have our HOME groups; accountability.
o Breaking a persistent temptation in your life is simple but it’s not easy. It’s as simple as ABC – Accountability, Boundaries, Christian friends. You’ve got to have those three things in your life or you’re never going to get over it. Accountability – one person you’re authentic with and honest with. Boundaries – you set up some boundaries that keep you from being in situations where you would be tempted.
o Given the right situation I am capable of anything. And by the way, so are you. If you don’t think you’re capable you are sadly mistaken. “He who standeth take heed lest he fall.” You’re setting yourself up for a fall by saying that could never happen to me. You’re wrong.
o The Bible says in the book of Jeremiah “The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” That means all of us have the amazing ability to fool ourselves. Every one of us have the amazing ability to lie to ourselves. You know who you lie to the most? You. And you tell yourself it’s ok. It’s no big deal. When it really is a big deal.
o If we say it is no big deal we have already lowered our standard.
o Why is it such a big deal? Because too much is at stake – the little eyes that are watching you.
o My grandsons are watching me. So I need to build boundaries in my life.
o It’s not rocket science folk. So what lifelong habit would you like to be released from? Have you been stuck in this cycle of good intention – I want to change – you make the effort – you fail and then you feel guilty about. Good intention, effort, fail, feel guilty. You can change. Are you ready to change? Are you ready to change now?
Closing Prayer:
If you’re ready for a change I want you to pray this prayer in your heart. Dear God, You know all the habits and temptations in my life that have tripped me up for years. You know all the tempting situations that I’m facing right now. So I’m asking for Your strength to take these steps that Randy just talked about. I am willing to follow Your principles so I can change and be free.
Give me enough strength to start avoiding tempting situations.
Lord, help me to remember to refocus my attention when things get my attention and tempt me. Today I commit to being in a small group where I can be encouraged and help others. I commit to finding a spiritual accountability partner who can help me in the specific areas of my weakness. And that I can help them and encourage them too. Most importantly, Lord, I need You to do some heart surgery on me. I ask You to remove the negative emotions that make me vulnerable to temptation. Would You replace the discouragement and the exhaustion or the boredom or the spiritual dryness and emptiness? Would You replace the insecurity and the deep wounds and hurts in my heart? Would You replace the resentment, the anger, the sadness, the loneliness with Your love with Your forgiveness, and with Your confidence. I want to learn to trust You. I ask You, Jesus Christ, to start changing me from the inside out beginning today. In Your name I pray. Amen.
