OVERCOMING TEMPTATION (5): HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH 

There was an episode about eleven years ago. We were preparing for a major meeting. After a young man volunteered to drop off some of the stewards who worked till late that evening, it was just a young man, a young lady, and myself that were left in the church. 

The young man approached me and said, “Good night, sir.” He lives just beside the church. I asked the young lady to wait so I could drop her off. The street to her house was a lonely one and it was late. It was about a minute’s drive. I wanted to ensure she was safe. 

But the Holy Spirit intervened. He told me to ask the young man to wait behind so we could jointly drop off the lady. I can then drop him off on a return trip. That way, I would not have to be alone with the lady. 

You would understand if you knew the size of the community I was pastoring. It would have been absurd to see a young unmarried pastor dropping off a single young lady about 9 pm. That day, I would have known the difference between “Pastor, good evening sir” and “Pastor, Pastor, good evening sir” or “Passsssstttoooorr, good evening.” 

I always ask three questions: 

Was she a bad girl? Not at all. 

Was I a bad boy? No! But you must not put confidence in the flesh. 

Could anything have happened in a short one-minute trip? Yes! Yes! 

The devil does not need a minute to sow the seed of lust. If the devil succeeds in sowing a seed, he will return to look for the harvest. 

There is no wisdom in dancing around a pit and boasting that you are skilled at avoiding pitfalls. The wisdom you need is to stay far away from the pit. If you have to start explaining it, then you do not need to start it at all. 

For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Philippians 3:3 KJV

There is an unfortunate cycle that many people get caught in. 

It begins with overconfidence. Overconfidence says things like, “It can never happen to me,” but ends up saying, “I did not know how it happened.” At times, it is “I can handle it” but ends up saying, “I thought I could handle it”. Pride still goes before a fall. 

It continues with a fall. Overconfident men will always end up falling into a pit. Afterward, you have the phase of regret and condemnation. The person feels down and demoralized. Often than not, the person backs it up with a vow like, “Lord, kill me if I do it again” (thank God for prayers God did not answer). After a while, he is trapped in overconfidence and back in that same cycle. 

Peter boasted in the flesh that he would never deny Jesus Christ. He ended up denying Jesus three times in one night. If you become bloated by overconfidence, you will likely end up in the dust. 

Listen to the warning of Apostle Paul:

So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall.

1 Corinthians 10:12 TPT

Do not be caught in that trap. Lean on God and His grace. 

© temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa.