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. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT
(1 Corinthians 10:13).

What temptation has seized you?  Was your brother hateful, spiteful, or unfaithful to you…and now you feel rejected?  Take heed! Do not take the escape route of quarreling.  Did your co-worker blame her failure on you…and now you feel slighted?  Be careful! Do not take the escape route of defending yourself.  Has a friend stopped returning your phone calls…and now you feel abandoned?  Stop! Do not take the escape route of pursuing her until she is brought down.

SUCH A HIGH PRIEST MEETS OUR NEED—ONE WHO IS HOLY, BLAMELESS, PURE, SET APART FROM SINNERS, EXALTED ABOVE THE HEAVENS.  UNLIKE THE OTHER HIGH PRIESTS, HE DOES NOT NEED TO OFFER SACRIFICES DAY AFTER DAY, FIRST FOR HIS OWN SINS, AND THEN FOR THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE.  HE SACRIFICED FOR THEIR SINS ONCE FOR ALL WHEN HE OFFERED HIMSELF
(Hebrews 7:26-27).

Beautiful One, capture that I, Jesus, am your High Priest who came to meet your needs. I sacrificed My Self for you to become your Route of Escape.  I have become God’s Way Out for you.

Therefore, accept the Love that I, your Savior, hold out to you, instead of focusing on the temptation.  Receive the Hope that I, your High Priest, have on hand for you, instead of focusing on your own escape routes.  Secure the Truth that I, your Redeemer, have ready for you, instead of focusing on your own way out.

THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU; YOU NEED ONLY TO BE STILL
(Exodus 14:14).

What temptation has seized you during this last week? How did it make you feel? What route of escape have you chosen to make your heart feel better?

I bless you to focus on God’s way out—Jesus, who sacrificed Himself once for all. If you turn your pain over to Him, He will provide a way out, so you can stand up under it.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that You always have a way out for me, even when I feel rejected, slighted, or abandoned. Remind me, daily, not to take my own way out when I feel bad, mad, or sad, but to surrender my broken heart to You, and wait for You to provide the right way out.