Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 2:18

Carl Belcher

Temptation is something that everyone has faced, even Jesus. In fact He faced temptation in every way (Hebrews 4:15). The good news is that just because He faced it, didn't mean He gave in to it. Because Jesus didn't cave in at times of great temptation and was 'without sin' it means that the same is also possible for us. It also means that if we ask for His help in this area of life He will willingly give us it (Hebrews 2:18).

Before we look at a great example of how to implement a strategy to handle temptation, the best place to start with is prayer! Sounds so obvious doesn't it? But it's dead easy to allow ourselves to become reactive rather than proactive when it comes to temptation. We find ourselves in situations where great courage is needed to avoid stuffing up, but these can often be avoided by following Jesus' command:

• "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." (Luke 22:40)

  He teaches us in His prayer to ask the Father to

• "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (Matt 6:13)

  He also promises that

• "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 stand up under it." (1Cor 10:13)

So, you've prayed and asked God to lead you away from temptation and then Bam... you find yourself face-to-face with a right moral dilemma. What should you do?

Let's take a look at how Joseph handles this when he gets the offer from Potiphar's wife "Come to bed with me!" in Gen 39:6-12.

The 4 R's

1. He refused
He could have handled this scenario several different ways, but he started out straight away with a flat refusal. My guess is that he wasn't completely surprised by her desire, (although her direct chat up line might have raised his eyebrows!) The text says he was "well-built and handsome" (v6). It's hardly Joseph's fault that he's hunk-of-the-year, but knowing how attractive he was to others I bet that he had already made his mind up long before this happened about what he would do in this situation rather than wait to see if his will power would hold up. I like the way this person put it, "..there are very few men who are able to make spontaneous morally heroic decisions in the face of extreme temptation". So don't rely on your spontaneous decision making ability, but make the decision right now "what am I going to do when this happens to me?"

2. He restated the situation
Joseph let her know why he refused to sleep with her. It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive or that he was immune to strong desires, he hits the nail on the head by explaining that sleeping with her would betray the man who has trusted him with so much. Even more importantly, he would be sinning against God. Sometimes it helps to actually state what would be the consequences of our decision and why taking that action would cause damage.

3. He reduced the opportunity
It states in verse 10 that "And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her." Joseph had managed to resist the temptation when it first came his way, but rather than put himself in an ongoing position of temptation, he minimised the risk of caving in by minimising the contact he had with Potiphar's wife. Proverbs 5 talks about the damage caused by an adulterous woman. It says in verse 8, "Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house". I have sadly heard too many stories of marriages that have fallen apart through affairs just because people refused to recognise the potential to develop desires for others and refused to reduce the opportunity. Or people with drug or alcohol weaknesses who wonder why they can't resist the urge to get high when they surround themselves with others who drink or use drugs. If you want to minimise the chance of caving in to temptation, minimise the contact with the thing that is tempting you.

4. He ran
If all else fails RUN!! In the eyes of some, Joseph's behaviour would have deserved some ridicule. "You mean this drop dead gorgeous powerful woman literally through herself at you and you scarpered? What sort of man are you?!!" But Joseph was more concerned with protecting his integrity and honouring God than being seen as one of the lads. When all else fails, it is better to run (even if that means physically) from temptation than be ruined by it.

Read for yourself how God continued to bless Joseph because of his obedience.

So if you are finding yourself in the midst of temptation big or small, my prayer for you is:

"Know that God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. And know that He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."