We Must Ask
October 4
Therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you.
2 Chronicles 1:12
It had been a year since the couple had battled issues of infidelity, and he was
wondering how his younger brother and his wife were doing. On the sur-
face, everything appeared fine. But he knew that the early stages of temptation
rarely show outward signs.
“Have you spoken to Gail about how she and Jeremy are doing lately?” he
asked his wife. “They appear to be okay. I just wonder if they really are.”
“Actually, I asked her last week. She assures me things are great,” she responded.
He remembered his own battle with infidelity; it had almost ruined his
marriage in the early years. He’d given in to temptation and made a terrible mis-
take. Fortunately, his wife believed in their marriage vows in a way he would later
come to understand, and they had worked through the pain of his indiscretion.
He had become accountable back then by giving two men permission to
ask personal questions about his faithfulness and to take any measures neces-
sary to remind him of his commitment to one woman. He’d needed that help
because the enemy had visited with the temptation of desire until he gained
victory through perseverance. He thanked God once again for the commit-
ment of those two men; for without them asking, “Are you experiencing any
sexual temptation?” he would have been left alone to resist the temptation. He
prayed that God would send someone to keep his brother and sister-in-law
accountable.
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We all face some nature of temptation; none are exempt. We need account-
ability with someone we are comfortable confiding in because self-sufficiency
in spiritual matters will eventually result in our failure to resist.
Solomon asked God for wisdom instead of wealth, riches, or honor. Because
of that, God granted his desire. He also gave him wealth, riches, and honor.
But wisdom is the key. Without it, we have no basis for understanding
with which to make sound decisions.
If someone we know has fallen to temptation in the past, the question is,
“Dare we ask him how things are today?” The answer is yes. Wisdom says we
must ask.
Prayer
“Help me be a friend that helps others avoid
temptation, Lord. And please send someone to help
guide me along the path of wisdom. Amen.”
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