Stop entertaining destructive thoughts by interrupting them immediately and replacing them with biblical truth, says the speaker, citing 2 Corinthians 10. Isolation fuels temptation. Find accountability in a mature Christian friend and stay connected to your church community through worship and Bible study.
Do not rehearse fantasies over and over repeatedly. Interrupt every thought. The Bible says to cast them down. Interrupt them immediately. 2 Corinthians 10 says, take thoughts captive. Captive means restrained before they escape. Replace fantasy with truth, the truth that is found in God's Word. Relational accountability is vitally important. Develop a relationship with someone that you know is mature in the Lord, that you can trust, that you can talk about your struggles, you can talk about your fears, you can talk about the things that are trying to dominate your life. Also practice this: isolation feeds temptation. When you're away from community and when you're away from other believers and you think it's okay to watch church sitting at home at a livestream when there's nothing wrong with you physically, there's nothing wrong with you mentally. You're isolating yourself when you're sitting there. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, it talks about not forsaking— what? The fellowship of the body of Christ. Not forsaking community, because the coal that is isolated from the other coals will eventually smolder out. It will go out. and it will die. So this is why isolation feeds temptation. So go to church, go to midweek Bible studies, do whatever you can do to be in the presence of the saints and in the presence of the Most High, our Heavenly Father.
