No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

Don’t you love it when ‘life’ happens?  I’d had a wonderful, spirit-filled weekend.  I was on a high, full of joy.  

Then as I was leaving for work Monday morning, I saw water at my basement door, but it wasn’t raining.  I am not an observant person, so I am thankful that I noticed it.

I went inside my basement to find water shooting from the ceiling.  A water pipe had busted.  The sheetrock had fallen and insulation was hanging down.  Water was shooting all around the room.  

I quickly turned off the water to the house and began to clean up my mess.  The more I cleaned up, the more I realized I was going to need more than just a pipe repaired.  I saw mildew and mold all over the place… on the wood beams, insulation, sheetrock, and many belongings in the room.  I called a restoration company because I knew I was not equipped to handle this situation.  I needed the experts.  As the week is ending, my basement is still drying with fans, dehumidifier, and antimicrobial sprays… and it smells awful.

In my quiet time this morning, this analogy came to me.  Let’s compare mold to sin, water to temptation, and the Holy Spirit to cleaning and drying agents.

We have temptations all around us and we have a choice whether to indulge or not.  We may think that we can try something once and go on about our business.  This is not always the case.  

Typically, one bad decision leads to another and before we realize it, we have a string of choices that have taken us down a path we would rather have not taken once we got there.  Like mold, the sin is growing and infiltrating our bodies.  It spreads from one area to another and before we know it, our life is filling with sin.

When we find ourselves at the end of our rope, we can grab onto Jesus.  The Holy Spirit brings His cleaning agents into our life.  He provides others (who have been where we are) to come alongside of us.  He fills us with His Spirit and allows us to provide support, love, strength, and encouragement to others.  

We will be tempted until the day we die and that is because we have an enemy, who seeks to destroy us.  We can continue to be covered in mold or we can accept Jesus into our hearts and allow Him to start the cleaning process.

God’s Word tells us that He has a plan for us and it is good.  We need to believe in His Word and understand the power of His love for us.  It is NEVER too late to repent of our sins and lay them at the foot of the cross.  Believe that… because it is TRUE.

Our Father, We bow at your feet today and ask that You will remove whatever temptations are holding us captive.  We need Your help and we can’t go through this life alone.  We may try for a while, but we will find ourselves in the darkest places.  We ask that You will bring us into the light of Your Grace.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

One of my favorite songs right now is Mandisa - Out of the Dark.  Let Him pull YOU out of the dark, if that is where you are.