how to say “no”
Most of us know Joseph's story; if you don't, you can find it in the book of Genesis, starting in chapter 37. There is a moment in Joseph's life where he is tempted to sleep with Potiphar's wife. (He worked for Potiphar and had much influence in Potiphar's house)
As Potiphar's wife is trying to seduce Joseph, he says, "NO!" and he runs away from her in the middle of this temptation moment. RUNS AWAY! As he is resisting this woman, he makes an impressive statement. He tells her his reasons for saying no, and in that reasoning, he proclaims that he will not do this awful sin against God.
Joseph knew that God had called him for something great, he knew that God had empowered him to fulfill this calling, and he knew that he wanted to stay close to God. So to sum it up, he said no to sin because of his purpose, by God's power, and to remain in close proximity to God.
We can learn a lot from this story. Many of us face temptation daily. We might be all tempted in different ways, but we are all tempted. Scripture tells us that the enemy tempts us with our evil desires. The truth is, our flesh wants to sin. It's easy to sin. So how can we come to a place where we can say "no"?
We must realize that we have a purpose from God. There is a reason you were born. There is a divine destiny attached to your life. If we frequently say "yes" to sin, then we will never reach that destiny. Sin will always pull us away from God, and when we are away from God, we cannot fulfill His purpose for our lives. We must say "no" to sin to say "yes" to God's will.
We are empowered to say "no" by the Holy Spirit. Again, our old nature wants to sin! But by the Holy Spirit, we are no longer our old nature, but we are a new creation in Christ. And as a new creation, we have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us to say "no" and even enough power to FLEE from sin. He changes our desires and enables us to live as a new creation.
Purpose and power are essential in our decision making, but that is not the foundational reason to say "no." Joseph had it right; he did not want to sin against God. He had a love for God, so much so that he would not do anything that would upset Him. When we have proximity to the Lord, we must do all we can to cherish that relationship. When we sin, especially willfully, it upsets the Lord. I don't know about you, but I never want to hurt the hear of my Savior. When I am tempted to sin, I remind myself of the closeness I have to Jesus, which becomes my reason to say "no." I do not want to drift from Him.
When we face temptation, we must remember that we have purpose, power, and proximity to the Lord. We have every reason to say "no." If I want to say "yes" to Jesus, then I must say "no" to sin.