via TJC
James 1:14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
TJC uses actual battlefield events to instruct men regarding their own battles. During this year's Gettysburg Battlefield event on 15 Oct 2022, we visited Devil's Den, a rocky outcrop where the Confederate army set up sharpshooters to harass and pin down the Union army on Little Round Top.
Unless someone has had extensive training, most people’s response to being attacked is to run, hide or freeze which leads to them being pinned down. These responses are all detrimental to solving the issue because if you are running then you are not facing what decisions brought you to this point and cannot learn from your mistakes. If you are hiding, you have no vision of the battle and you cannot see a way out and put yourself at risk of losing hope. If you freeze, then your indecision and unwillingness to face the problem will cause the problem to get worse. When we are pinned down we can lose sight of ourselves and our true identity as Christian Men. We can focus so much on the pain and anxiety of the problem that we forget to Hope in Christ. Thankfully we have tools to escape being pinned down!
The Bible - God can teach us through His Word so we can be wiser when approaching our problems and devising solutions.
Prayer - Communicating to God our needs and desires and asking for patience, perseverance and guidance.
Our Christian Brothers - They are spotters and pick us up when we fall. They also remind us that the trials we face are for the building up of our spirit, to turn us into men with skills and experience to grow God’s church. They also have personal experience with temptations and can teach us how they overcame their adversity and solved their problems.
Our Intelligence - We can take each problem and break it down into the smallest possible steps to make progress toward the solution instead of resigning ourselves to indecision.
Daily Battle Order:
Sincerely pray that God shows you want is preventing you from moving forward on your walk with Him. Pray for a way out of your current situation and turn to those around you that you trust to help guide you and keep you accountable. Most importantly, do not give up hope that the problem can be overcome.
fear, shame, guilt and anxiety - those are the key things that pin almost every man down at some point. Temptations arise from those as ways to avoid what we fear or are anxious about - as addictions, lust, lies
we need to clearly identify what is pinning us down