Dealing With Temptation, Part 2
by Lindsey Hanekom
Yesterday we looked at asking God to take away temptation. I likened it to removing the tempting dog’s bowl from my son’s reach. However, there are some things in our lives that tempt us, but they’re more difficult to remove. For instance the television, the internet, alcohol, and food are readily available to us.
In our house, Kyle often wants to hold on to the oven door handle when we’re in the kitchen. We don’t want him doing this as he could easily hurt himself. Clearly, we can’t respond in the same way as we do with the dog’s bowl. It’s impossible to remove the cooker!
So how do we handle this situation? Initially, we see Kyle heading towards the cooker and we give him a gentle warning. If he makes a grab for the handle, we issue a firm verbal reprimand and remove him from the cooking area. But we don’t just dump him in a different room, far away from us, rejecting him for disobeying us. We offer a more enjoyable thing to do in the kitchen, where he’s still with us. We join in with his play.
In the same way, when you’re heading towards falling into temptation, your conscience will sound a warning bell. The enemy wants you to believe that once you start down that road, you will inevitably fall. Then God won’t be there for you because it will be your own fault. But that’s not true. God’s Word says He will provide a way out, no matter how far we’ve walked down the road of temptation.
As soon as you allow God into the situation He’s able to rescue you and put you in a place of safety. No matter how far down the road of temptation you may travel, He will always be there, ready with a way out to a much better place, where you can enjoy your relationship with Him – but you must choose to want it!
Prayer: Father God, You know the areas where I struggle with temptation. I know that they’re with me every day. I pray that You will help me. May I remember to ask You to rescue me before I fall. Then I can be in a safe place and enjoy my relationship with You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Lindsey Hanekom Lindsey has worked at all of our UK centres over the years and has settled at Ellel Scotland with her husband, Johann and their two young children, Kyle and Zoe. As part of the Leadership Team at Ellel Scotland, Lindsey has a heart for the deeply broken as she oversees the prayer ministry and is an established and passionate teacher with Ellel. In her spare time, Lindsey enjoys the natural world, particularly the ocean, and is trained as a specialist medic to assist stranded and injured marine mammals.
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