When to Walk Away

The week has come to an end it's FRIDAY! YES! let's take a moment just to reflect on these words as we head into the weekend with Read: Genesis 39:1-12 Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 32-34; Mark 15:26-47 God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. —1 Corinthians 10:13 When my father became a Christian in his old age, he fascinated me with his plan for overcoming temptation. Sometimes he just walked away! For example, whenever a disagreement between him and a neighbor began to degenerate into a quarrel, my father just walked away for a time rather than be tempted to advance the quarrel. One day he met with some friends who ordered pito (a locally brewed alcoholic beer). My father had formerly struggled with alcohol and had decided he was better off without it. So he simply stood up, said his goodbyes, and left the gathering of old friends for another day. In Genesis, we read how Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph. He immediately recognized that giving in would cause him to “sin against God,” so he fled (Gen. 39:9-12). Temptation knocks often at our door. Sometimes it comes from our own desires, other times through the situations and people we encounter. As Paul told the Corinthians, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” But he also wrote, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). The “way out” may include removing the objects of temptation or fleeing from them. Our best course of action may be to simply walk away. —Lawrence Darmani Lord, please give me the wisdom and strength to know when to walk away from situations and people that tempt me to do wrong. Every temptation is an opportunity to flee to God