Before You Yield, Ask Yourself...

“It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?’” Genesis 39:7-9

“How can I do this great evil and sin against God?” When you are in the middle of the heat of temptation, are you thinking clearly, or are you focusing on the object of your temptation? A wise person will prepare for temptation because (as we have discovered) it is unavoidable.

You can avoid yielding to temptation if you will think soberly and ask the right questions. So when facing temptation, bring yourself into check long enough to ask yourself -

1. Is this temptation a violation of the Scriptures?

2. What have been the consequences in the lives of other people who yielded to this sin?

3. If I yield to this sin, how will it affect me?

4. Am I willing to pay the consequences of yielding to this temptation?

5. Will yielding to this temptation satisfy me or only stir up stronger desires?

6. Is yielding to this temptation a wise decision or a foolish one?

7. How can I do this great evil and sin against God?

These questions literally defuse the bomb of temptation in the life of the child of God who chooses to live in obedience to the expressed will of God the Father. Temptation is best faced when careful preparation has been undertaken. Ask these 7 vital questions.