The Red Button

Ever notice how easy it is to stop a treadmill? All you have to do is press the “stop” button. It’s right there in the center of the panel in bright red. It’s genius! But that simple red button is also a glaring source of temptation. It begs to be pushed when the run gets too long, the legs get heavy, or the mind gets bored. In fact, that tiny button can do major damage to a training program if we give in to the temptation to push it.

Every day, we as Christians face temptations from the enemy. Generally, he doesn’t waste time hiding them from us. He throws them right in our faces—kind of like red stop buttons in the middle of our running path with Christ.

What can we do to avoid caving in? Shift our focus! The longer we stare at the stop button, the more enticing it looks. If we fix our eyes somewhere else, we’ll be more likely to forget the escape option even exists. In life, if we dwell on temptation, the more loudly it beckons us. If we focus on Christ and His Word, the enemy can’t touch us. If we concentrate on His truth instead of the temptation at hand, there is nothing we can’t withstand (1 Corinthians 10:13).