Morning By Morning #207

She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!”

But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Genesis 39:12

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

In dealing with certain sins, the only road to victory is a hasty escape. Some naturalists of old wrote of the basilisk, a mythical reptile with a deadly gaze. It was said of the creature that its eyes could fascinate their prey, rendering them easy victims. In like manner, even the mere gaze of wickedness puts us in serious danger. So he who wishes to be safe from acts of evil should be quick to run from any opportunities of it.

We should make “a covenant with [our] eyes” (Job 31:1) not to even look at what may cause temptation, for some sins only need a spark to ignite what quickly becomes a blazing fire. After all, who would knowingly enter a hospital ward where those with a contagious disease have been quarantined? Only someone foolish enough to desire the disease himself would take such a risk. If a sea captain knew how to avoid a storm, he would do anything rather than run the risk of weathering it. Cautious sailors have no desire to see how close to sandbars or a rocky coast they can sail without springing a leak. No, their goal is to stay as close as possible to the middle of a safe channel.

If I am exposed to great danger today, may I “be as shrewd as snakes” (Matt. 10:16) to get away and avoid it. The wings of a dove may be more useful to me today than the jaws of a lion. It is true I may appear to be a loser by refusing evil company, but it is better to leave my cloak than lose my character. It is not essential I be rich, but it is incumbent upon me to be pure. No ties of friendship, no desire for beauty, no display of talent, and no threat of ridicule should be able to turn me from the wise resolve to flee from sin. I am to “resist the devil, and he will flee from [me]” (James 4:7), but I must flee “the lustful desires of sinful human nature” (2 Peter 2:18) or they will surely overcome me.

O God of holiness, preserve Your Josephs, protecting them from Madame Bubble [an enchanting witch in The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1628 – 1688) based on the adulterous woman in Proverbs]. May she not be able to bewitch them with her vile, sinful temptations. May the horrible trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil never overpower us!

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Sometimes there will be a cost to fleeing sin. The cost for Joseph was ultimately being sent to prison as an innocent man. Yet that cost was much better than losing his character. Often people say there was no way out, so they fell to their temptation. But God’s Word tells us: “When you are tempted, [God] will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

Others say, “My temptation was too great for me,” but the same verse says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” Still others say, “God doesn’t understand my temptation,” but “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb.4:15 – 16).