HALT Helps With Resisting Temptation

In 1 Corinthians 10:13 the apostle Paul writes: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man". This means that temptation to sin should be an expected part of any Christian's life. But the second part of that verse is a promise that gives us hope. "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

This morning on his Sunday morning program, In Touch, Dr. Charles Stanley, one of my favorite preachers, presented a message entitled "Responding to Temptation Wisely". You can see the sermon and review the sermon notes at www.intouch.org.

The reason I bring this up is that in this sermon he presents an acronym that can be used to help to remember factors in our lives that leave us more likely to give into temptation. That acronym is HALT. It stands for:

Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired

Spiritually every Christian is extremely vulnerable to giving into temptation to the point of sin when any of these elements are in their lives to extreme. In order to be able to be alert and able to resist temptation a Christian should do their best not to ever be too hungry, too angry, too lonely, or too tired.

Of course taking those precautions will help in resisting temptation but there is an ultimate weapon that God has given us to resist the tempter, Satan. That is His Word. When Jesus was tempted three times by the devil in the wilderness He used scripture to resist the evil one's proposals to sin. The Word of God helps you escape from temptation. HALT will keep you from being vulnerable to temptation in your life.

I'm not doing this point any justice. I highly recommend you go to www.intouch.org and listen to the sermon. It will help you grow and become stronger dealing with the temptations in your life.
God Bless.