A woman had started a new diet, and so she purposely chose a new route to drive to work so she wouldn’t have to drive past her favorite bakery: the one with the windows filled with all kinds of scrumptious, tempting goodies.  

One morning she was running late, and she forgot and took the old route. There on the left was that bakery looming up ahead with the neon sign beckoning to her. She could almost smell the wonderful aroma of baked goods. She thought that this couldn’t have been an accident, so she quickly prayed,  

“Lord, it’s up to you. If you want me to have any of those delicious goodies, create a parking place for me directly in front of the bakery.”  

Sure enough, on the 10th time around the block, there it was: the perfect parking place.  

Temptation! Yes sir! We all face it, don’t we? And sometimes we just fan the flames and even add fuel to the fire.  

A lot of people don’t like having Thanksgiving leftovers in their refrigerators. They don’t like facing the temptation day after day of eating all those marvelous holiday goodies. Some people box up all those leftovers and send them home with all the friends and family that joined them for the big meal.  

All of us face temptation of some sort throughout our lives. Many times, over and over again.  

You know, temptation often comes in through a door that has deliberately been left open The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”  

It’s been said that what makes resisting temptation so difficult for many people is they don’t want to discourage it completely. Many of us like thinking about those things repeatedly. Most of us face temptations of all kinds throughout the day and on into the night, and then on into the next day, and on and on. 

Like the woman in the story I told, we dwell on those things that keep tempting us; and we find ourselves driving around the block again and again. Who hasn’t been on a strict diet and found themselves thinking about those things they’re not supposed to eat. They seem to call your name.  

Years ago, I had open heart surgery and I was put on a salt free diet while I was in the hospital. The food at the hospital was down-right nasty without salt. I would get my meal and then lay there in bed wondering if there was someone I could bribe to sneak me in some salt. If I hadn’t been hooked up to all those machines and IVs I would have gone sneaking around trying to find some, maybe even pleading with another patient to sell me their salt. It wasn’t really that bad, but I think you get the picture.  

Like the Apostle Paul says, we all face temptation. But he also says that God provides a way of escape for us. He makes it possible for us to resist; to flee from it; and to overcome temptation.  

If you are struggling in your life, call out to God. He is always ready to come to your aid. All we have to do is ask. And ask and ask, and ask again.  

A portion of The Lord’s Prayer says, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  

God has provided a way of escape if you want it. Just talk to Him about it.