Are you tired of getting blindsided by the same temptation over and over again—and losing the battle in the moment… again? https://www.getinthefight.club/7 — If you’re looking for help to break bad habits or build better ones and you want to be the man God made you to be, check out this link and our 7-Day Challenge — an email-based course absolutely free to help you learn how to change and grow and become more of the man you’re meant to be. In this episode, we start with one of the most iconic moments in sports history: Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Michael Jordan steals the ball from Karl Malone, hits the game-winning shot, and later says, “I never doubted the whole game.” Why? Because he had already seen the play before it happened. He visualized it, rehearsed it, and when the moment came—he simply executed. What if you could approach your temptations the same way? Instead of getting ambushed and relying on raw willpower, what if you had a clear, God-centered game plan before the moment of temptation ever showed up? That’s what we’re talking about today: using a simple If–Then Pause Plan to “see the play before it happens” and start winning the battles that keep taking you out. 🧠 Big Idea: You’re Not Weak… You’re Unprepared Most Christian men think their main problem is a lack of willpower. But the truth is, the reason we fall again and again often isn’t that we’re uniquely weak—it’s that we’re unprepared. When temptation hits and you have no script, no plan, and no pre-decided response… you will almost always lose in the moment. But when you’ve already seen the temptation and decided what you’re going to do when it shows up, you’re not scrambling—you’re executing. Just like Jordan studied his opponent and anticipated the play, you can learn to anticipate your own patterns of temptation and respond with wisdom instead of panic. 📖 Scripture: God Calls You to Be Prepared We anchor this episode in what Scripture says about alertness and preparation: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
— 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT) “Stay alert” and “watch out” are preparation words. We’re not meant to stumble into spiritual battle half-asleep and unarmed. We also look at Jesus’ example in Matthew 4: Before Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus had already hidden God’s Word in His heart. When the enemy came at Him, Jesus didn’t scramble—He responded with truth He already knew: “It is written…” If Jesus prepared for temptation, why would we assume we can just wing it? 🛠 The Tool: The If–Then Pause Plan Here’s the simple framework to “see the play before it happens”: If (and when) the temptation shows up… then I will… You decide in advance how you will respond when a specific temptation appears. Three Steps: Visualize – Rehearse – Execute Visualize What is it that keeps tripping you up? When does it usually happen? Late at night? When you’re stressed? Lonely? Bored? Picture the situation honestly. See the trap before it’s sprung. Rehearse Walk through your If–Then Pause Plan in your mind. See yourself in the actual scene, feeling the pull… and then following through on your plan. The more you mentally rehearse it, the more natural it becomes when the real moment shows up. Execute When the temptation appears, you’re not deciding from scratch—you’re following a script. And when you win that battle? Celebrate it. Thank God for His help and let that victory fuel the next one. 🧩 Why This Works (Key Teaching Moment) This isn’t just a clever slogan—it’s how change actually works: It moves your decision-making before the temptation, not during it. It gives your brain a preloaded script, so you’re not panicking in the moment. It trains your mind for battle, instead of hoping you’ll magically be “strong enough” next time. As legendary coach John Wooden said: “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” What’s my most common temptation right now? What usually leads up to it? What do I usually do—and what do I want to do instead? You’re not broken beyond repair. You’re valuable to God and invited into real change. You don’t need hype — you need the right tools, the right truth, and a better way forward.
Start small. Start now.
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