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When I was in cheerleading at Crowley High School, all the cheerleaders had to get fitted for our uniforms. We scheduled a day to meet with a seamstress, and she measured each of us one by one. She had a notebook with each of our names on a separate page and she took careful measurements. She measured my arm length and width, my waist, my shoulders, my hips, etc. She measured everything! And took note of it all. She made sure to not mix up my measurements with Nikki’s or Staci’s or Connie’s.

Why couldn’t we all just wear the same uniform? We were all cheerleaders. We were all girls. Just make 12 uniforms exactly the same, right? Wrong. Each uniform had to be tailor-made to to us individually. Theresa is 5’8” with long legs. Dana is 5’11” but built totally different than Theresa (long waist, shorter legs). I’m only 5’3 ½ – short legs, short waist!

My point is this: Satan has a notebook with your name on it! And he has been sizing you up since the day you were born! He has been taking note of everything about you. He looks for any area in your life where you suffer repeated weaknesses and temptations. When he sees you fall for a temptation – he makes note! And you can count on it, he will bring that same temptation into your life over and over until you fall!

Satan has a “tailor made plan” to tempt you, distract you and destroy your life. His ultimate goal is to create temptations that are custom-designed to pull you away from God’s plan for your life. Just like with the cheerleading uniforms, what fits you (or tempts you) may not fit someone else. He knows that. He doesn’t mix up your measurements with anyone else’s. He has great strategy in tailor-making his plan to destroy your life.

Nothing about his plan is haphazard or coincidental . . . it is well-thought out, well planned out. It is strategic in every way. The timing is strategic. Where you’re tempted, who you’re tempted with, what you’re tempted by, why you’re tempted there! Beth Moore says, “There is method to his madness.”

How does Satan size you up?

Step #1. He tests you.
He has to find a weakness in your flesh. He brings things little by little to see what you’ll fall for and what you won’t. He knows it must be something that appeals to you speci?cally or else you won’t fall. It could be:
  • something that catches your eye
  • something that you feel is missing in your life
  • something you need
  • something that makes you feel better
  • something that feeds your desires, needs and attention
  • something that calms your nerves
  • something from your past that you used to enjoy
I think of the ?shing term “lures”. Satan knows exactly what lures you. Just like a fisherman has tested many different lures over time to see which fish is “lured” by which bait, Satan does the same thing with you. The fisherman knows which bait to use to catch bass fish, a catfish, a stryper. He dangles different bait in front of those fish to see which one they’ll fall for. He may have to wait a while but he hopes the fish will eventually fall for something!

James warns us: “We are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my dear friends.”

Here’s the catch: the very thing that “lures” the fish is the very thing that leads to his death. On the other end of that bait is a hook designed to kill. And it’s no different with Satan. The very bait he uses to lure you, to draw you away from God, to distract you… is the very thing that leads to death. It could be the death of your career, the death of your family, the death of your marriage, the death of your confidence, your finances. Death is the result.

Just like James said, “when sin is full grown… gives birth to death.” Death is the result when we give in to those temptations that are screaming so loud in our ears! I know in my own life when I have been drawn away from God’s plan for my life and been easily distracted or deceived, I definitely felt a type of death in my soul. I don’t ever want to feel that again as long as I live. There’s no peace anywhere when we’re outside of God’s covering and we’re just following after the bait. The bait looks good, tastes good, feels good… but it leads to death.

For a moment, step out of the day-to-day struggles, temptations and challenges you could be facing right now. I want you to look at the big picture of your life. Wake up and see the bait for what it is. Look beyond the bait and see the hook. Imagine that hook getting so deep into your soul that it takes life from you. Don’t fall for Satan’s traps that are tailor-made to destroy you!

If you’re in a situation right now where you’re being tempted to do something that you know deep-inside is not in line with God’s plan for your life – in fact, you fiat out know it’s wrong… dont' do it! I do not believe it is a coincidence that you’re reading this today! God is warning you: it's a trap and you will regret it!

Don’t waste years of your life trying to recover from something you could totally avoid! Look beyond the bait and see the hook. Satan wants to get his hooks so deep into your life that you literally die inside! That’s exactly what will happen if you give in to this fleshly desire, temptation, lure!

Step 2: He justifies sin. It’s not overnight that we give into temptations. It’s little by little we compromise. How do you think I’m able to minister this message so accurately? Because I understand. When we’re tempted to do something we know isn’t the will of God, our minds have a unique way of justifying why it’s OK to remain in sin.

It’s a tailor-made plan that appeals to your greatest vulnerabilities!

The Bible warns us, “Watch out! Don’t let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God.” That’s Satan’s ultimate hope – to get you to turn away from God. Sometimes it’s just through guilt over what you’ve done. You keep turning your back on God because you’re too ashamed to talk to Him. You’ve made Him promise after promise and you keep letting yourself down – so you just avoid Him altogether! Exactly what Satan was hoping!

I want you to recognize where a door may have been opened in your life through temptation and determine to close it! If you don’t, and you just leave that door wide open for Satan to distract and destroy you, I guarantee that if I were to check back with you one year from now, you would probably cry, “WHY! Why was I so stupid! Why did I do that?” Don’t make regrets. God has a plan for your life. Determine to live beyond how you feel, to resist this temptation and to go on with God’s plan.

Copyright ©  Terri Savelle Foy Ministries International
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Terri Savelle Foy
Web site: Terri Savelle Foy Ministries
 
Terri has become the CEO of an international Christian ministry. She is an author, a conference speaker, and a success coach to hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Her best-selling books Make Your Dreams Bigger than Your Memories and Imagine Big have helped people discover how to overcome the hurts of the past and see the possibilities of a limitless future. Her weekly podcast is a lifeline of hope and inspiration to people around the world.
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