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We face temptations of different kinds every day. In general, they attract us with some offer of pleasure or gain for which we have to sin against God (Ja.1:14,15). Just as Satan tempted Eve to disobey God in order to become like God (!), most of the times our temptations exaggerate what we will gain while hiding what the implications are in God's eyes and what the consequences will be. Victory means to say no when we are tempted.

Temptations come in the form of ideas or thoughts, which may come from our mind, other people or from demons. If we 'do' something wrong following these ideas, we sin. We can also sin in our mind, without doing anything externally, if we choose to let our imagination run, chewing over the idea in our mind and deriving pleasure. Victory is when we don't accept the idea but reject it straight away.

Anyone who has tried to overcome temptations, especially powerful things such as anger or sexual lust, will find soon that it is impossible to get victory by our own strength. We will be fighting against the desires in our own flesh. Born again Christians don't want to sin, but then our desires fight to get our attention (Ga.5:17). Even if we manage to resist them occasionally, especially at times when important people are watching us, we can fall unexpectedly, and especially when we are feeling 'low', meaning when we are tired or worn out physically or mentally. These are the times that show us that sin dwells deep within us (Ro.7:21). That is when we learn to cry out to God for help to overcome (Mt.5:4,6). Victory is not about receiving forgiveness after we fall but preventing the fall, even though forgiveness is available from God if we fall when we confess it (1Jn.1:9).

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (2Co.12:9). The secret of true victory is here. It is when we see and acknowledge our weakness before God that He gives us grace (help) to overcome (He.4:16). As long as we imagine that just by trying a bit harder we can get victory, we will continue to fall. On one side, if we don't try as hard as we can, it shows us that we don't really want victory. But on the other side, if we have not become fully convinced that unless God helps us we cannot have any victory, victory will keep evading us!

In that sense, it is good that we fall in the beginning, till we see our total impotence in fighting against sin. If we don't give up but continue to look to God for help He will give us the victory. When we get true victory we will have no doubt in our mind that it was purely because of God's grace!

Victory is not something, which once we receive it we cannot lose. If we become self-confident or proud and become careless with temptations, we can fall any time, however long we have been living in victory (1Co.10:12). That is why we have to put on the whole armour of God to protect every part of our life from the enemy and be vigilant and watchful (Ep.6:11;Mt.26:41).

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