Overconfident

Being overconfident can lead you into a humbling situation. It happened to me and a few high school buddies on a trip to California. 

We had a motorhome full of high school friends. We stopped at the Grand Canyon. My mom told the group, "You have 2 hours to look around, then meet back here." Three friends and I decided to see how far we could get down the trail that led to the Colorado River. We decided we could go down the trail for 45 minutes and allow 75 minutes to come back up. Big miscalculation!

As we went jogging down the trail, we met a lot of people walking slowly up. They said with tired voices, "You won't be going that fast on the way back up!" We thought, "We're athletic young men who live in mile-high Denver, so we are in excellent shape and won't have any problem going back up!"

You guessed it! We had a problem! I have no idea why the climb was so difficult. We could only take about 10 steps before our lungs were bursting and we'd have to rest a bit. The biggest problem was that there was no way we were going to make it back in the 2-hour timetable. This was in 1971 - before mobile phones - so there was no way to let my mom know where we were or why we were going to be really late. 

I don't remember exactly how late we were - probably 30 or more minutes. It was embarrassing and humbling to realize to realize how much we overestimated our strength. 

I've had the same experience in my spiritual life. Overestimating my strength to resist temptation. I think a common tactic of the devil is to get us overconfident in our flesh. "Go ahead into this tempting situation. You can handle it!"

Jesus warned us: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22

Joseph set a good example when he fled from the advances of Pharoah's wife. He didn't try to stick around and discuss the situation. (Genesis 39)

Flee from sexual immorality. 1 Corinthians 6:18

The book of Proverbs warns young men not to wander near  where a prostitute lives: 

Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, Proverbs 5:8

Proverbs 7:6ff tells the story of a young man who got too near her street and "All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter..."

We dare not overestimate our strength to resist temptation. We must do as Galatians 5:16 commands us:

 

...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Then you can experience the victory that this verse talks about: 

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 

1 Corinthians 10:13