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MW Editor’s Note: Mentoring Warriors welcomes back guest contributor Tobie Plett. Tobie offers wisdom on an issue that plagues many warrior-aged men. His personal victories with purity have offered hope to many. Tobie shares insights that might help your manhood journey.
Some people say the devil is strongest when you are at your peak, when you are winning.
But Satan is most after you after your biggest failures. Because it’s after your slips and falls
that you have the opportunity to be most intimate with the Lord.
The Lord is not depending on your ability to be righteous. Victory is not found in righteous
living, our victories with the Lord are found in our dependence and trust in him, and there is no
greater trust than the moments when we have the least to offer him, in the aftermath of our
sin.
Why is this the case? Well, it is important to be righteous and abstain from sin. However our
performance, no matter how good or bad, does not affect our status as a son of God. Our best
victories fall short, and our worst sins have been absolved by the one true living savior. This
continued performance driven faith may keep us from sin for a while, but we will learn nothing
in the process, other than the fallacy to trust ourselves, and when we do eventually fall, we will
not have the spiritual vigor and humility to turn to God, and we will be paralyzed by our failure
and inability to be holy. So I predict that for some, Satan would like nothing more than to keep
us in this status of “semi-righteous” living – where our continued subpar performance makes
God’s forgiveness unrecognizable and unnecessary, thus never learning to fully trust God.
But, I will tell you what Satan does mind. In our despair, in the deepest darkest moments of
sin, Satan’s attacks are ruthless. It is the performance driven faith that makes eventual sin feel
like a bullet train, absolutely soul-crushing. And Satan hates this, because it breeds
opportunity for spiritual renewal. Why? Because in the course of spiritual life, these are the
only moments that ever really matter. This is where we discover we cannot trust ourselves,
and we learn how to have a relationship with Him. Satan knows this spiritual breeding ground,
so if he can undermine this process, he will.
How does he undermine this process and what do his attacks look like?
Pain – “The pain of failure / abstaining from sin is too great so I must cope and continue to go
deeper.”
Shame – “I am so ashamed of this failure I cannot confess it, I must rid myself of this behavior
on my own before I can ever tell someone”
Fear – “I am afraid of how bad it is going to hurt if I stop.” “I am afraid someone is going to find
out”
Anger – “I hate myself for being unable to succeed. I don’t deserve mercy or forgiveness
(unless I earn it).”
These are Satan’s greatest attacks manifest, because these are seedlings for earnest
repentance, and real relationship with Jesus Christ.
So the call is clear, turn to repentance. Even if it is your thousandth or millionth failure. If you
don’t walk through pain, shame, fear, and anger and instead are subverted by it, it is where
Satan has a foothold. If you do decide to persist through, it is the greatest dagger in Satan’s
waging war, and the closest we get to the Lord.
The true son of God is the prodigal who after repeatedly running away, facing deep pain,
comes back to Jesus finding him waiting at the gate with his arms open, every single time.
Repent, and grow into the holy man of God he is transforming you into.
Warrior On!
Tobie Plett
My name is Tobie and I am from Canada presently living in Wichita, KS. I am first and foremost a follower of Jesus, and I desire for people to know how much Christ loves you. That has the power to heal addictions and change lives, which I am particularly interested in having people know.
