Tempted and Tested 诱惑与考验

[Dexu Xia]

God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Stanley loves the freedom and flexibility that his job as a private-hire driver gives him. Among other things, he can start and stop work anytime, and he doesn’t have to account for his time and movements to anyone. Yet, he said, that’s ironically the hardest part.

“In this job, it’s so easy to start an extramarital affair,” he admitted frankly. “I pick up all sorts of passengers, yet no one, including my wife, knows where I am each day.” It’s not an easy temptation to resist, and many of his fellow drivers have given in to it, he explained. “What stops me is considering what God would think, and how my wife would feel,” he said.

Our God, who created each one of us, knows our weaknesses, desires, and how easily we’re tempted. But as 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 reminds us, we can ask Him for help. “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear,” Paul says. “When you are tempted, [God] will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (v. 13). That “way out” could be a healthy fear of the consequences, a guilty conscience, remembering Scripture, a timely distraction, or something else. As we ask God for strength, the Spirit will turn our eyes from what’s tempting us and help us look toward the way out that He’s given us.

What temptation are you facing today? What way out might God be giving you to keep on His right and holy path?

Father, You know my weaknesses. Please give me the strength to resist temptation and to walk with You, in Your holy and life-giving ways.

上帝是信实的，必不叫你们受试探过诱惑与考验于所能受的。—哥林多前书10章13节

谭德是一名计程车（或私召车）司机，他很喜欢这份工作，因为时间灵活自由。举例来说，他可以在任何时候开始和结束工作，而且不需要向任何人交代自己的工作时间和行踪。但他说让人感到讽刺的是，这却是最具挑战性的部分。

他很坦白地说：“做这份工作，要发展婚外情简直易如反掌。我接送各式各样的乘客，但没有任何人，包括我太太，知道我每天在哪里。”他坦言这不是一个容易抗拒的诱惑，有许多司机同行都已身陷其中。谭德说：“我不会这么做，因为我很在意上帝会怎样想，以及我的妻子会有什么感受。”

上帝创造我们每一个人，祂深知每个人的软弱、欲望，也知道你我多么容易受诱惑。但哥林多前书10章11-13节提醒我们，可以请求上帝的帮助。保罗说：“上帝是信实的，必不叫你们受试探过于所能受的。在受试探的时候，总要给你们开一条出路，叫你们能忍受得住”（13节）。这“一条出路”也许是担心自食其果、良心有愧、想起一段经文，或适时地转移注意力等等。当我们求上帝赐下能力时，圣灵会让我们的目光转离诱惑，并且帮助我们看到祂赐给我们的那条出路。作者：  许文荣

今天你面对什么诱惑？
上帝为你开一条什么样的出路，保守你走在祂正直与圣洁的道路上？

天父，祢知道我的软弱。请赐给我力量能抗拒试探，
并在祢圣洁、使人得生命的路上与祢同行。