Sometimes you’re going to need an “emergency kit” for temptation.
When you get in a situation where you’re tempted and you don’t know what to do, you need to cry out to God.
If you’re facing a temptation and you start to panic because you feel the adrenaline running through your body, you can’t have a long conversation with God—and you don’t have to! You can just do what I call a “microwave prayer,” and it’s one word: Help! You tell God, “This is not where I want to be right now, and I’m about to step across the line. I need your help right now.”
God promises, “Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you” (Psalm 50:15 NLT).
Cry out to God. When you do, you can expect him to help you, because he’s sympathetic to your situation. The Bible says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT).
Did Jesus ever struggle with anger? Yes. Did Jesus ever wrestle with loneliness? Yes. Did Jesus ever deal with sex and sexuality? Yes. Was he ever tempted by fatigue and discouragement? Yes. How? Because he’s God, but he’s God in a fully human body.
Jesus faced the same temptations we do, so we can expect him to help us when we cry out to him. And we don’t have to feel shame. “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).
That is a great comfort. And that is the power to change.
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