Never Alone

“She does WHAT?” As we walked out of class, a friend told me something
surprising. A boy at our school, who I’ll call “Henry,” had persuaded his
girlfriend, “Vanessa,” to do his homework for him. When another student
asked Henry about this, he admitted that every school night Vanessa
completed not only her own homework but Henry’s too.

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I felt indignant on Vanessa’s behalf. Why should she carry this extra load?
Why had she ever agreed to this? But then I wondered How would I respond
if a person I cared about—or a person I was in a long-term relationship
with—pressured me to do something I wasn’t comfortable with?

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When we place our faith in Jesus and enter a loving relationship with God
our Father, we receive His Spirit. In John 14, Jesus refers to the Holy
Spirit as “the Spirit of truth,” promising He will be in us and guide us in
God’s truth, no matter what situations, pressures, or temptations we face.

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In difficult situations like these, setting verbal boundaries can often
help, giving us a way to sidestep pressure from others to do something we
don’t believe God would want for us. We can say things like the following:
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “No, that’s just not for me.” “No,
I’m not comfortable with that.” Or you could make your parents the bad guys
and say, “No way! My parents would go crazy if they found out!” Most
parents and grandparents wouldn’t mind if it helped protect you from sinful
and/or dangerous choices and situations.

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In our broken world, we face struggles of all kinds—temptation, pressures,
and other challenging situations; even Jesus Himself faced these things
(Hebrews 4:14-16). For this reason, we can know we’re not alone, no matter
what we face. • Allison Wilson Lee

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• Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. As Christians, what hope do we have when we
face temptation?

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• If you are being pressured to do something that is wrong or that you are
not comfortable with, who are trusted adults you can reach out to—such as
parents, counselors, pastors, or teachers?

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[Jesus] has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews
4:15-16 (NIV)

 

Read Verses:

Hebrews 4:15-Hebrews 4:16; John 14:15-John 14:18; 1 Corinthians 10:12-1 Corinthians 10:13