One of the biggest lies that sin tells us is “just one more time.” Sound familiar? Those words have probably been said by everyone starting from childhood. There are probably some parents who cringed when they read the words “one more time” because they’ve heard them a thousand times. When a kid is at the playground and it is time to go home they usually resort to begging their parents to let them go down the slide “just one more time”. When you playfully pick up a child and set them back down their arms almost instinctively shoot back out and they yell “do it again!” But.. what happens when you do it again? They always want more. “Just one more time!” However that “one more time” never comes. They always want just one more time and regardless of how many times you do it, they will still want just one more time.
This child-like instinct is how we get with our sin. This childish phrase is one we often mutter when battling our sin, especially addictions. A drug addict only needs one more high. A porn addict only needs one more video. A gambling addict only needs one more roll at the craps table. A smoker only needs one more cigarette. An alcoholic only needs one more drink. But, it never ends there. One more is never enough because what they need after they get one more is, you guessed it, one more. We seem to have an unquenchable thirst for sin. That thirst derives from this truth: Sin never has enough of you. It always wants more. If you give sin your arm it wants your leg too. If you give sin your work life it wants your home life too. Sin never has enough of you. Sin is never satisfied with you, and you will never be satisfied with sin.
Many christians believe that they have their sin under control. We don’t control sin, sin controls us. If there is sin in your life I can guarantee that you are not the one in control. Sometimes Satan lets us grab the steering wheel so that it seems as if we’re in control but we’re not. It is like the old buggies (shopping cart for my non-southerners) they used to have at the store that looked like cars. Kids could get in and grab the wheel and it was as if they were driving the cart all around the store. But who was really in control of that cart? The parent was. The kid was at the wheel and felt in control but in reality they had no control of that cart whatsoever. That is how Satan treats us with sin. He lets us crawl in and grab the wheel and feel that sense of control, when in reality, he is pushing us wherever he desires to take us.
So how can we actually take control and fight back against our sin? Well, let‘s use its own scheme against it. Just one more time. We are in a war with sin. Sometimes we get so caught up looking at the grand scheme of things that the war seems impossible to win. We must narrow our focus and not look at the war as a whole, but for what it really is. Every war is a collection of battles. A war is not won in a day, or even a week, or a month. A war is won over time as one side begins to win the individual battles. We don’t have to win the war today but we must win the battle. After we win a battle, then what? Just one more time. All you have to do is win one more battle. And after that? Just one more time. We just have to win another battle. And then what? Just one more time. Catching on yet? We don’t win the war by focusing on the war as a whole but by seeing the battle in front of us today and winning it. Will you lose some battles? Sure. That’s the nature of a war, but we cant give up. We can’t let one loss discourage us and lead to another loss. We must stay focused and win the battle at hand, regardless of the results of previous battles. We just need to win one more. Just one more time.
So how do we win these battles? Lets take a look at God’s word. We engage in battle with our sin when we are tempted, but God offers us a way out. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us this: “God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.” God will always provide an escape for us and that escape will be our victory. I wish I could tell you exactly what that escape will be, or what it will look like, but honestly I don’t know. However, I do know where that answer can be found. The answer lies with Him who promises to deliver you. With God. So, what should we do when we are tempted? Turn to God and ask for His direction. Ask for Him to be your escape. Ask for Him to show you the battle plan and fight back. Temptation is coming, will we be ready? God has promised us a way out but He has not promised us a life free of temptation. So the war is on, the next battle is looming, and a victor will be crowned. Will it be you?
In every war there is a battle, or a couple battles, that are labeled as the turning point of the war. This is the point in the war where the eventual victor finally finds a weak spot in their enemy and exploits it. We are in a war with sin. It is time that we find that sin’s weak spot and exploit it. Luckily for us, every sin has the same weakness. The grace of God. No sin can overcome the grace of God. So today lets embrace this grace and fight on. When the battle arises, turn to God. Ask for Him to show you your escape and flee from sin. Let today be the start of the turning point. You might have lost a lot of battles in the past, just as I have, but the war isn’t over. The next battle is coming and it is yours for the taking. All you need to do to win the war is to win the next battle. Then after that, just one more. The victories will begin to pile up as you focus not on winning the war, but winning the next battle, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Our thirst for God’s victory must outweigh our thirst for sin. One more victory should never satisfy us. We must remain vigilant and always ready to win the battle of temptation, just one more time.
