Resistance begins here

Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought. ---Thucydides

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. (Proverbs 27:12 NLT)

Impetuous desire has been the downfall of many since the beginning of time, has it not? If we were to be honest with each other today, we'd likely have our own accounting of 'impetuous' decisions we've made that didn't end so well. Without thought or care, we trudged into something, finding what we hoped to be there fell short of our desires. Did we learn from those impetuous decisions, or do we continue to make them, thinking the outcome will somehow change? As a wise person once told me - if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.

We might refer to that failure to learn as being a little bit foolish, right? We know the outcome will be a certain way, but we blindly hope it will be different this time. To be honest, this is why so many of us fail at resisting the same temptation time and time again. We used the same resistance tactics that didn't work the last time! We need to go to Jesus with those failed tactics and ask for him to show us if they need a 'tweak' or to be abandoned altogether, substituting a new plan in their place. We will likely get the same miserable results until we listen to his plan!

Calm and prudent forethought - the best time to resist a temptation is when it isn't staring us in the face. If we'd realize we need a well thought out plan, we might just resist the next time it comes. The 'plan' isn't a magic formula of some kind, but it is a course of action we formulate with the help of scripture, wise counsel, and by listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Know what the scripture says to avoid. Look at how those who've gone before us avoided those pitfalls. Understand the principles of God's authority. When we begin to use scripture to formulate a 'plan' of resistance, we aren't being impetuous - we are being diligent.

Heed warnings. Listen to the voice of God's Spirit within. Have a prearranged response to temptation and the urge to just rashly move forward into sin's territory will not be your response - you will take a beat, think about what you've learned, listening to his voice, and then rejecting anything that doesn't adhere to what he has taught you. This is where resistance truly begins - in prayerful forethought. Just sayin!