It was January, but it did not seem like the middle of winter. For the last two days the sun had been out and it had been warm! Some of the snow had melted and there were big puddles of icy water in places. One of the biggest puddles of icy water was in the long gravel driveway that went to Joe and Haley’s farmhouse.
Haley had spent the afternoon at a friend’s house and now she was going home. Haley was in a hurry because she was late! She had promised Joe that she would be home before it was completely dark and it was getting dark now! She ran down the country road and could see her driveway up ahead. Haley was getting tired, and she was breathing hard, but she kept going because she wanted to get home before it was totally dark, she did not want to get into trouble! As Haley ran full speed up their long gravel driveway, she heard a noise! It was a howling sound and it was coming from Medford Forest! As Haley looked across the field toward the forest she was not watching where she was going, and she ran right into the icy puddle in the driveway! Her feet flew out from under her and she fell with a splash! Usually when Haley does something clumsy, she either ends up laughing at herself or getting mad, but not this time. Haley knew that falling into icy water in the winter can be very dangerous! She needed to get warmed up and dried off in a hurry. She got out of that puddle and ran into the farmhouse. She told Joe what had happened and Joe immediately told her to go and take a hot shower and then put on several layers of warm clothes. While Haley was taking the hot shower Joe made her some hot soup and a warm meal.
Later that evening after Haley had quit shivering, she and Joe were sitting in the living room. Haley was wearing a lot of warm clothes and was wrapped in a thick blanket. She was feeling warm and cozy until she remembered that howling sound that had come from Medford Forest. She told Joe about that noise and asked him if it was wolves. Joe answered, “I don’t think we have any wolves around here, but there are quite a few coyotes. You probably heard a coyote howling!” Haley asked, “Will a coyote hurt the deer in the forest?” Joe answered, “The coyote are probably bothering the deer and trying to catch them, but the deer can take care of themselves.” Haley had another question, “Will the deer attack the coyote with their sharp hooves?” Joe said, “No, deer do not usually attack any other animals unless they are cornered and feel that their life or their fawn’s life is in danger. Instead of attacking, a deer will usually run away from danger.”
Haley answered, “This week I started to read my Bible so that I can grow strong and healthy in my Christian life, and I read a story about Joseph that reminds me of the deer running away from danger. The story is in the Old Testament in the book of Genesis. In chapter 39 Joseph is a slave owned by a man named Potiphar. Joseph served Potiphar so well that Potiphar trusted Joseph with everything. Potiphar’s wife tried to tempt Joseph to do wrong things and sin, but Joseph would not listen to her. He ran away from her and away from the temptation! She grabbed his coat and ripped it off him, but he did not stop, he kept running away from her and the temptations! She told lies about Joseph and got him put into prison, but he never gave in to her temptations. Joseph ran from temptations just like the deer run from the coyote! I want to be like Joseph and run from temptations. Temptations are a lot more dangerous than a coyote!
Joe said, “I am so glad you are reading your Bible Haley! You learned a lot from the Bible story of Joseph! I know a Bible verse that you should memorize to help you remember to run from temptation.
It is found in I Corinthians 10:13
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptations to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure it.
Application:
Haley faces a lot of temptations in her life, some of them are:
- She is tempted to tell lies.
- She is tempted to break rules.
- She is tempted to lose her temper.
- She is tempted to gossip about other people.
- She is tempted to hate other people.
- She is tempted to not be respectful.
- She is tempted to think that she is the most important person.
- She is tempted to not love others.
- She has many other temptations.
You probably face the same type of temptations that Haley does, but no matter what temptation you are facing, God has promised to provide a way to escape the temptations.
- Sometimes you just need to be quiet.
- Sometimes you just need to leave.
- Sometimes you need to run away.
- Sometimes you need to stay away from certain places.
- You need to be careful about what you listen to or what you watch.
- You need to be careful about what you think about.
All of us face many temptations every day, but God is always faithful to keep His promise. There will always be a way to escape, and there will always be forgiveness when we come to Him after a failure.
In the Bible in I John 1:9 it says:
But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.