Recently I took it upon myself to paint the privacy fence that goes around my backyard. It was something I had been meaning to do for months but had never gotten around to. I ran to our local Lowe’s and picked up everything I needed. It was somewhat of a windy but hot day so I put on a pair of shorts, a T-shirt, and a pair of sandals. I had watched our neighbors across the street kill themselves using a paintbrush so I decided I was going to use a spray gun to take care of things quicker. The type of stain I chose was labeled clear on the bucket so I really didn’t think much about it. About halfway through the job I noticed my skin looked different. I removed my sunglasses for another look and, for a split second, I was mildly impressed by the tan I was beginning to get…. until I realized it wasn’t a tan at all. Rather there was a mild amount of coloring in the bucket of solution being used. By the time I realized it was staining my skin it was too late. The damage had been done and the sun was poised to go down pretty soon. I pressed on. Later, I attempted to wash off the coloring from my skin but it only partially came off. There were still remnants of what happened. Here I am six days later and I still have some coloring on my skin left over. I looked like I had a bad spray tan on my arms and legs.
Isn’t that how sin is? Things may start out on a very innocent level but, before you know it, you have been marked by the stain of what you have involved yourself in. It doesn’t seem like it has affected you much until you start noticing the stains here and there. You can try to cover it up but if you were to ever remove the covering the stain will still be there glaring at you like a scarlet letter announcing what you had done. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And 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 endure it.” We know temptation will come but even during our worst moment, God is still faithful and would not have allowed it to come in our direction if He didn’t think we could handle it. God must give the enemy permission to test or attack His people. Job’s story reminds us of that. Thankfully, there’s always a trap door…a way of escape! It’s like the magician who disappears leaving the crowd shocked. I like the idea of shocking the enemy by how quickly I slip out the back door. Satan could be gearing up for round two and, with God’s help, I will have already overcome the attack and slipped away from his grasp without him ever knowing.
Closing remarks and encouragement: Temptation will always come. It’s nice to think we will always get it right but there are times we will slip and fall. It’s our sinful human nature. Just remember, it doesn’t matter how many times you fall as long as you GET BACK UP every single time! And it would be nice if you purposed not to make the same mistake twice. 🙂
Have a blessed week, my friends!!