Strength Training
RESISTING TEMPTATION MAKES YOU STRONGER.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read Luke 4:9-14.
Verse of the Day: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, NIV).
Yan trudged across the gymnasium floor and dropped her gym bag at her mother’s feet.
“I am so weak,” she said. “I don’t think I can walk another step.”
Mom smiled. “I’ll carry your bag,” she said. “Did Coach work you too hard?”
“She’s trying to kill us!” Yan said. “She made us spend forty-five minutes in the weight room today.”
Mom chuckled and said. “She’s just trying to make you stronger.”
“Stronger?” Yan squealed. “Stronger? I can barely lift my own arms right now. How am I supposed to jump and run?”
“Well, you’re tired right now. But every weight you lift makes it easier to lift the next one.”
“Yeah, right.” Yan said. They arrived at the car, and Mom opened the door for Yan and set her gym bag on the floor.
“Really,” Mom insisted as she got in on the driver’s side. “The reason your coach makes you work out with weights is to make you stronger so you can jump higher and run faster.”
“I got offered drugs again,” Yan said, in a flat voice.
“What did you do?” Mom asked, her voice suddenly heavy with concern. Drugs seemed to flow through Yan’s school like water through a faucet.
Yan shrugged. “I said no, what else?”
“Was it hard?”
“No. It was hard the first few times because I thought everybody would think I was weird or something. But now it’s easy to say, ‘No way!’”
Yan suddenly turned to her mom, smiling. “Maybe saying no to bad things is like lifting weights.”
“What do you mean?” Mom asked.
“Well, you said Coach just wants to make us stronger, right? Every weight we lift makes the next one easier.” She turned in her seat to face Mom squarely. “Maybe every time I say no to temptation, I get a little bit stronger. You know, like I used to be embarrassed when I said no to stuff, and now I just say no!”
Mom smiled at Yan. Her eyes filled with tears. “You just keep getting stronger, then,” she said. “You just keep saying no.”
TO DISCUSS: Can you think of a temptation that used to be hard for you to resist? Do you think resisting temptation has made you stronger? What temptation is hard for you to resist right now? How can you get stronger in fighting that temptation?
TO PRAY: “Lord, we need your strength each day to resist temptation. Here’s what we’d like to say no to.” Have each family member silently pray about a temptation he or she is facing. After the prayer time, you might discuss ways to resist temptations.