Romans 6:12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

I am a control freak! There…I said it out loud. I like to drive, I like to choose where to eat, and I like to have things the way I like them. The problem is that my desire to have things my own can work against God having His way in my life. The enemy exploits our sinful desires to gain control of our lives. Romans reminds us to defeat enemy control by guarding against sinful desires. So how can we keep the controls of our lives out of enemy’s hands?

Recognize that sin is seeking control. The Bible says that sin has it pleasure for a moment, but then it always leads to death. You have to recognize that sin always seeks to control. It is more than innocent flirtation when you dabble with sin. What you are doing is inadvertently giving away control of your life.

Recognize that sin starts with desire. Desires are not sinful; they just have to be evaluated. Romans says not to give into sinful desires. So the desire to sin is not sinful. The yielding to that sin is where sin begins. The easiest time to deal with sin is while it is still in the desire phase.

Recognize that there must be a refocusing to consistently overcome the desire to sin. Romans says not to just avoid giving in to sin, but to replace that action but giving yourself fully to God. You are going to put your passion and effort somewhere to seek fulfillment. You must make a conscious desire to seek such things from the Lord.

Today’s Challenge: Take control of your desires by pointing them in the direction of Christ. Give yourself fully to Him. Sinful desires are not defeated by only focusing on abstinence, but must be accompanied by giving oneself fully to the desires of God.