Weekly Verse 3/31

Temptation is probably one of our hardest struggles on this earth, partly because they appear in many different forms. The easiest temptation to overcome is that which is right in front of us, dressed brightly and flashing like a slot machine in Vegas saying, "Come over here. Play with me, waste your time and lose your money". It is still a victory to overcome that temptation, but we expected that, right? However, this is not the only form of temptation. There are other times when something looks so beautiful and smells so sweet, that we allow our senses to drive us and we end up in a pitfall that we are struggling to get out of.

For the past few months, I have been working out a lot (you're probably annoyed by my gym check-ins) and eating healthier. I have cut out a lot of "temptations" (chocolate, caffeine, cookies, ice cream, the list goes on and on). However, when one of my best friend's Shannon Royals came to visit recently she dropped off the MANY, MANY boxes of girl scout cookies I had ordered back in January. I always order 2 varieties, Thin Mints (yuck) for the hubby and Samoas for myself (B hates coconut). I know what you're thinking (condescendingly), "You gave into the temptation, and ate a Samoa. Wow!" But that isn't the temptation, of course I would eat a Samoa; I ordered them for that sole purpose. So, yes you're right. I at a Samoa, but then I ate another and another, then 3 more and finished off an entire row. But their sweet deliciousness kept calling my name and now that I had tasted the temptation and knew how sweet it was I couldn't hold back! I ate 2 boxes in 2 days! I was satisfied for a short period of time, but I had to work out even harder to rid my body of the calories, and sugar, that I had consumed. This is the temptation that tests us the most, before we know it we're half a box in and enjoying every morsel. But our God gives us a way to escape and his is not a treadmill that keeps us running in place; his is a surreal path (one less traveled) that leads us to his Kingdom. Sometimes our temptations are so great, that we don't think we can overcome them, but if we turn to God he will show us a way out.

This week's verse comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 "The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it."

PS - I have found a way to overcome the seductive Samoas as I still have a few boxes left. I placed them in the freezer. This works 2 ways: 1. They are out of sight out of mind. 2. Since I'm impatient, when I start craving them I think "Eh, I don't want to wait for them to thaw"