UNTIL HE BRINGS ME HOME

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:24-26

when you face temptation (be like Joseph; be like Christ)

It’s a narrative almost all of us have heard in Sunday School before:

So [Potiphar, Joseph’s master] left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.

Genesis 39:6-12a

I’m sure Potiphar’s wife, being wedded to an Egyptian official, was remarkably attractive. And there was nobody else in the house at the time; Joseph, had he relented, would probably have gotten away with it. 

But in the moment of greatest danger, Joseph’s self-restraint was informed by the holiness of God. The primary motive for Joseph’s fleeing from temptation—in this case, lust/adultery (a temptation I know many of the guys reading this face regularly)—was the goodness and lordship of God. Hi words and actions were tethered by the commandments of the God of the universe, and he understood that there is far more joy in obedience to the Creator than in giving into youthful passions.

Among the means God uses to deliver on his promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 are prayer and his Word. So read and learn of the God revealed in the bible. Believe and preach the truths therein to yourself—especially in moments of temptation. And prayerfully depend upon his all-sufficient power and grace. 

For the sake of holiness and Christ’s glory, flee. In the words of 116 Clique: I’ll flee from it all till I’m free from it all.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.

Psalm 51:1-4

But, as I’m sure you know, even with all this in mind we still succumb (Romans 7). Despite all our best efforts to surrender and have faith, we still stumble.

And so we cling to the cross of Jesus Christ.

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