Temptations

⁶So he 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. ⁷And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” ⁸But 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. ⁹He 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?” ¹⁰And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her." – Genesis 39:6-10

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I was reading through this passage a little while ago and thought this would be a great post to do before Valentine's Day! Of course, being in a regular blogging schedule hasn't been a thing since this year has started (I'm working on it!). But, in this reading, I think this actually goes beyond just the "season of love" and applies to our everyday life when it comes to temptations. There is so much truth piled in this one section!

There are two ways we can respond to temptations: Give in or Give up

Q: What are temptations? How can temptations be harmful? Have you had any temptations in the past? 

Normally when reading through this I only catch Joseph's actions and response, but after reading over this again, there are two responses showing the ways we sometimes respond to temptations. 

Give in to temptation: In verse 7, Potiphar's wife "after a time" let her thoughts and emotions stir inside of her before she acted on those feelings. Instead of giving up our temptations, we find ourselves either falling slowly into a downward spiral and sliding right into our own desires; I know I'm no stranger to the more cautious way of giving in. By start off with making small compromises, adding a little this here and there, later I see myself falling into a bigger mess than anticipated. 

Give up your temptation: Joseph makes a clear decision to not give into the temptation placed around him. In verse 10,  he even makes a point to be in its presence. Joseph physically removes himself from situations that could possibly lead to temptation. Even listening to our thoughts while in the moment is dangerous and can lead to compromising boundaries.

Determining what boundaries should look like sometimes depends person-to-person, but ultimately should come from God. Read: Matthew 5:29, 6:9-13

Q: How can I pray for God to help me pull away from my temptation(s)? What are some ways I can physically deter from temptations?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Realizing where/when it starts can help in shaping limits with conviction, and prevent sorrow, shame, and regret. Try spending time in God's word to see what he says about our temptations specifically, and in cases, what was the end result for people who obeyed God versus those who followed their flesh.

Look at other parts in the bible where people were faced with temptations. Q: How did they respond similarly or differently?

Adam and Eve, Genesis 3

Jesus, Matthew 4

–Jem