The will, then, actively identifies with the temptation. “Lust has conceived” (James 1:15). Desire has gone through the process of the conscience and the will has initiated the result. “When lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin” (James 1:15). Now, the danger of forming a habit may ensue. This is the anatomy of temptation. Recognize that temptation is the attack of the enemy, and recognize the avenue along which he proceeds.

Secondly, resist temptation! “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). As seen, temptation always involves the will. Under the influence of the devil, the will can passively yield to temptation. Under the influence of the Divine, the will can actively resist. By refusing, one begins to form good habits.

Also, one must endure. “Blessed is the man who endures (remains firm under or is not moved by) temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life (James 1:12). “But let patience (endurance) have her perfect work” (James 1:4).

Everyone can resist and endure. “There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Every temptation that one will ever face is common to the human race. Some other person has been tempted just like you. You need not yield to temptation, for God in His faithfulness has made a way of escape.

“Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). Renunciation is part of the Christian life. “Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). When Abraham gave his nephew Lot an opportunity to choose some land, he chose the region of Sodom. Lot “pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Genesis 13:12) and didn’t renounce the worldliness he had experienced there. Therefore, he got himself and his family into tremendous trouble (2 Peter 2:7-9). Wrong companions can be a snare. David’s son, Ammon, “had a friend” (2 Samuel 13:3). He was a corrupt comrade; for he led Ammon into sin (2 Samuel 3:4-17). “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness and sin not” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).

There is no substitute for the word “resist.”  Every believer must resist. The more often we resist, the stronger we become. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh” (Romans13:14). A Christian who is consistently failing because of temptation is not applying the principles of God’s Word and not claiming victory through prayer. “Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation” (Matthew 26:41).

Escape is possible only when we “rest” upon the Lord (Matthew 11:28) and resist temptation. Determine that you are going to be “holy,” just as He is “holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16). Then, start obeying His principles within His Word. Temptation will begin to lose its grip. Falling into temptation does not have to be habitual. The “Spirit” of God lives in us (Romans 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8; 1 John 3:24). By trusting in God’s grace (Proverbs 3:5-7) and by relying on the fortifying power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16), a believer can say “no.”

Finally, recover from temptation. It is important that believers are “not ignorant” of Satan’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). It is possible to “recover out of (escape from) the snare of the devil” (1 Timothy 2:26). When we fall into sin, the way to recover is to repent. “Deliver me from all my transgressions… O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence and be no more (Psalm 39:8-13). Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, never repented. He felt remorse, but he didn’t repent. Instead, he went out and killed himself (Matthew 27:3-5). The apostle Peter denied his Lord, but his remorse produced tears of repentance (Luke 22:54-62; John 21:15-17). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

The clean heart is the happy heart. “Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways” (Proverbs 23:26). It rests on Jesus and praises Him for recovery. “A joyful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). Depending on the illness, recovery can be long and painful, but healing soon starts and its effects will be noticed. Praise God that there is “balm in Gilead” (Jeremiah 8:22; 46:11) and “healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2). Therefore, seek to be pleasing in His sight and yield not to temptation!

Prophetic Word