Growing up I watched every horror movie, Twilight Zone, and Outer Limits ever made.
When I see Twilight Zone now I wonder how I could ever have been terrified by a show about a man who freed the devil from old monks who’d captured him. But at the time, the unearthly howl behind the barred door where they kept him sent shivers down my 13-year-old spine.
Once my folks were out late and I watched a particularly frightening Twilight Zone just before television went off the air. Each night at midnight the national anthem would play, as jets flew over the American flag, an Indian head would appear (I lived in Oklahoma) with TV beams radiating out from it and the TV would emit a high pitched tone until the next morning’s broadcasts. I turned off the tube and sat there in the silent, creaking house, waiting for something evil my way to come.
Suddenly a painting on the wall across from me began to vibrate. I was sure that invisible hands would start tossing lamps across the room, and an axe would float through the air! I leaped up, grabbed the picture. The whole wall was vibrating. To my relief, I discovered that the furnace behind the wall had just kicked on and was shaking the wall.
You may laugh, but all the nights of “Chiller Theater” and Alfred Hitchcock sowed fear into my heart that continued into my twenties, even after I became a Christian.
I’d wake up in the night terrified there was someone or something in the room. I tried to fight it directly repeating “I rebuke you, spirit of fear, and command you to leave in Jesus’ Name,” over and over. But the more I rebuked, the stronger my fear grew. The same was true with other temptations, like lust. The more I rebuked, the more I wanted to lust.
The more we try to fight something directly, the more we focus on it, and the worse it gets. It’s like trying not to think of the word “elephant” for the next 10 seconds. See what I mean?
A better approach is pray and praise. Pray to Jesus to deliver you from temptation then start praising him. Say, “Praise you Lord, my fortress and shield. Thank you that your love hems me in. Thank you for delivering me from fear (or lust, or anger, etc). Praise you for the power of the Holy Spirit, and for your victory over my sin and Satan.”
Focus on fear and it seems stronger. Focus on Christ and he will become greater in your eyes.
How do you fight temptation when it comes?
photo by Roadsidepictures
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Running to the Father has been my only successful tactic in fighting fear or temptation; otherwise, it is a complete diaster. The Holy Spirit will often bring a verse to mind which fits the situation perfectly. When our son was a little guy, he suddenly became afraid of sleeping by himself.. As the Lord would have it, I came across a print which had Psalm 4:8 (In peace I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety) written at the bottom of a beautiful picture of a little blond boy who looked remarkably like our son. The print hung over his bed for years, reminding him that the Lord is faithful to care for him. It's a lesson he still remembers after all these years.
Excellent, Elaine!
Using Scripture to fight temptation is always the way to go, as demonstrated by Jesus himself. Psalm 4:8 is perfect for anyone battling fear at night. Thanks!
This is a great strategy for fighting sins that occur in our minds. Often times I will burst into a worship song (sometimes out loud, sometimes just in my head).
This is great, Ben!
Great way to focus on Jesus – by singing to him! Thanks.
Right on. It's never about overcoming or running away from something – it's always about running to something else. I wrote about this in a post about temptation a while back. I've always found that I'm dead if I focus on not fearing or not doing anything. I'm much better off when I focus on moving toward Christ and the security He's given me.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
Great insight Marshall!
Running TOWARD Christ, focusing on Christ, instead of focusing on not fearing or not doing anything – moving toward Christ. Well put!
I've followed your blog for a while now, lurking around and rarely commenting. Today's post has hit me, and God knew I needed to hear your words. So I just humbly say, "Thank you." As a young mom w/ three small children, I am facing the possibility of recurrent cancer, and it's so easy to focus on the what if … instead I focus on the what is. Thank you for pointing me to praise and to truth.
Hi Angie,
I'm grateful the Lord would use our feeble efforts to encourage you, even if you don't comment. But thanks for your encouraging words. I have occasionally wondered "what if I have…" when I've experienced certain pains, and even been tempted to fear, so I can only imagine the temptations you must face. Your phrase "it's so easy to focus on the what if …instead I focus on the what is" is really well put. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane – Chiller Theater! It was a sign of bravery to stay up to 1130 to watch Chiller Theater with Chilly Billy. It was a sign of endurance to make it to the second show, which ran until about 0300. Those were the days.
Hey Tim!
I laughed out loud at your comments about it being "a sign of bravery" and "sign of endurance." Yeah, those were the days. Is Chilly Billy still alive?
Hey Mark!
According to the official Bill Cardile website, Chilly is alive and kicking and broadcasting on the radio M-F out of Pittsburgh. It's worth finding the site just to hear the audio that introduced the TV show.
Thanks Tim! I'll check it out.
I must say, I love the Twilight Zone. That was some good suspense, and some excellent writing!
I love this tip about going to God instead of trying to shut out the fear. That never works, does it? Its like trying not to think of a pink elephant.
Hey Brando!
Yeah, Rod Serling was a great writer. I knew someone in college who lived in Monroeville (I think) and she said that every summer Rod Serling would stay in a house in their neighborhood and write for 3 months, living on coffee and cigarettes.
Now I'm thinking of pink elephants!
Mark:
When I was young the Friday night show was "Hoolihan and Big Chuck". My younger brother and I used to love staying up late and eating junk food (before it was called that) and watching scary movies! I never liked the Twilight Zone and don't know many episodes. The old Outer Limits was the freakiest show I can remember as a kid. When they would say, "We are now taking control of your TV………." . That said, when I got older, I didn't watch horror movies at the theater.
After I got saved I asked the Lord to forgive me of any connections to demonic influenced behavior or influence and break any strongholds in my life.
We should not minimize unsanctified behavior. But we should understand who we are in Christ. One of my favorite Scriptures is 2 Tim. 1:7, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
A song I like to sing as an offering of praise to God is "The Battle Belongs to the Lord", followed by "Nothing But the Blood".
Isn't God great?
GRACE to you (Rom. 15:13)
Hi Bill,
I remember that Outer Limits line – that was scary. Thanks for these great ways to combat temptation – knowing who we are in Christ is critical. And 2 Tim 1:7 is a wonderful Scripture for battling fear. Thanks for your comments! Grace to you too!
Along these same lines, John Piper gave this wonderful answer on how to overcome lack of assurance (in this question, it's specifically about assurance of salvation). The same principle of looking to Christ can be applied with other things as well. The whole point is to focus our attentions and affections on Christ. Otherwise the capacity to doubt and get into a spiraling circle of despair becomes very easy.
*When the question arises, "Is my faith authentic?"—which it should,
because the Bible says, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the
faith"—the answer is almost never found with the kind of soul-satisfying
certainty that you want by looking in and peeling the onion of your heart.
Jonathan Edwards just laid me bare in 1971 and '72 when I was reading his
book Religious Affections. I can remember several nights where, in his
chapter on evangelical humiliation, he began to peel back the onion layers
of my soul.
He would say, "So you think you're humble? What if you're boasting in your
humility?" And you admit, "Yes, I probably am boasting in my humility." And
he would ask, "Well, what if your confession that you are boasting in your
humility is really a pose, and you're still boasting in your humility?"
He gave question after question that made you realize, "There's no center
to this onion." You peel and peel and peel, and the last peel just
disappears, because you can always ask yourself, "How do you know?" You can
always doubt yourself. There's no way, by mere self-analysis, to come to a
point where you're looking at something that you can say, "Definitely
authentic!" Because the capacity of the human brain to doubt is always
there.
So where in the world does assurance come from? The answer is that, even
though introspection is commended and wise up to a point, the bottom line
of assurance comes when you stop analyzing and you look to Christ and you
look and you look and you look until Christ himself in his glory and his
sufficiency by reflex, as it were, awakens a self-forgetful "Yes!" to him.
Your best moments of assurance are not the moments when you're thinking
about your assurance. Because the very moment that you're thinking about
your assurance, you have the capacity at that moment to doubt your
assurance. This little voice, whether it's your conscience or the devil, is
saying, "You think you have assurance, but…"
And so the answer comes, "Look to the cross! Look to Christ!" And if you're
able to look to the cross, if you're able to see him as sufficient and
satisfying and powerfully able to carry all your sins, and you find
yourself drawn out of yourself to say "Yes" to him, that's what you want.
You are assured. He is your assurance at that moment.
Hey Ben,
Outstanding! Though I wasn't thinking of assurance when I wrote the post, you are so right – the principle of looking to Christ for assurance instead of looking inside for assurance is such a profound and important principle. Thanks for your insightful comments! I hope others are encouraged by them.