My two-year-old granddaughter was guilty of giving in to temptation.
She stood on the step in the pool’s shallow end but inched her way to the deep end by clinging to the edge. We knew she would go underwater if she lost her grip on the deck. Her mother and I were there to save her if this happened. Because we loved her, we closely watched this little explorer.
We are often like this with sin. We have the power through Jesus to overcome, but we still give in to our cravings, which entice us to dabble just a bit. Little by little, we inch deeply into the trap of sin and dangerous situations.
We never expect with our first action that sin will be so destructive. Instead, we suddenly become aware of our circumstances and wonder how we got to this place. We grip for dear life onto our marriage, children, health, self-respect, testimony, and anything that once gave us joy.
Thankfully, we are blessed with a heavenly Father who never takes His eyes off us but guards us with His love. Christ is our anchor, and He tethers us to His heart. Even if we let go of Him, He will never let go of us.
Instead, He supplies a way out so that we can endure our temptations. When we sink into the deep end of sin and call out to our Savior, He lifts us and places us back where we belong. But what began as exploration may take tears, sweat, and years to heal and restore fully.
Sin will take us down a path we don’t want to travel and keep us longer than we want to stay. When we find ourselves inching that direction, we can call out to the One who knows us better than anyone. We can immerse ourselves in His love and hide His Word in our hearts. He will open our eyes and ears, helping us to remember all that is ours through Him. There is no sinful craving as splendid as His treasure.
What are some steps you can take to help you overcome temptation?
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Jenny Calvert has been married to her husband John for fifty years. They have five children and twelve grandchildren. She has been a musician in churches for many years. Now that the children are grown and she has retired as a church musician, she has rekindled her love for writing. Jenny has had devotionals published in The Upper Room. She also was accepted as a contributing writer for the website, www.dailyprayer.us, under the link Daily Inspiration. She also writes a blog at www.libertyladiesdevotional.blogspot.com Jenny has been published in Susan Cheeves King’s Short and Sweet Family Album, Short and Sweet Goes Fourth, Short and Sweet Takes the Fifth, Humili8ing, and Angels in Disguise.