Page 92 - Overcoming Addiction

button and push it again. If they pushed a button and never received a food pellet,
then they would give up and never go back to pushing that button. However, if
there was a button that gave pellets randomly, sometimes providing a pellet, but
other times not providing a pellet, the rat would keep pushing the button until he
received what he desired. Even if he had to push the button 99 times before
receiving a pellet, he would persist because he knew that it would eventually
release that which he sought.
Satan operates much the same way in our lives. If he has any hope that in
persisting to push our buttons that he will entice us to abandon our obedience to
Christ and give into temptation, he will keep on doing so. When he sees there is
no longer any hope of producing the desired result of sin, he will give up. Satan’s
role is therefore beneficial to the Christian. By his attacks he serves to reveal if
there is some area of our life where we are not fully committed to obedience.
God wants to prove our love for Him. He could have driven all the enemies
out of the land of our flesh when we first came to Him. His goal, however, is not
merely to have a land devoid of enemies, it is to have mature sons and daughters
who love Him and are fully committed to Him. For this reason He requires that
you and I engage in the battle. In this way we are made strong spiritually, and our
love for God is proven.