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Temptation – Part 5

If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:10

If you’re stuck in a repeating cycle of good intention, failure and guilt, you won’t get better on your own! Certain temptations are overcome only with the help of a committed friend who prays for you and holds you accountable. Becoming transparent is part of the answer to your lonely struggle. Listen: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (James 5:16). Problems only grow in the dark, but when you bring them out into the light they shrink. You’re only as sick as the secrets you keep, so take off your mask, stop pretending everything’s fine and come out into the light. Satan wants you to think your temptations are unique, so you must never share them. No, we all fight the same temptations! The reason we hide ours is pride! We want others to think everything’s under control. The truth is that whatever you can’t talk about is already out of control in your life. If you could handle it on your own, you’d have done so. Willpower and personal resolutions aren’t enough. Your problems are too ingrained, too habitual and too big to solve on your own. So, if you need help today, humble yourself and ask for it! Answer this tough question: ‘What am I pretending isn’t a problem in my life? What am I afraid to talk about?’ Yes, it’s humbling to admit your weaknesses, but lack of humility is the very thing that’s keeping you from getting better.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to get over my fear of sharing with others and asking for help and prayers from others so that we can both grow stronger in, with and through you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen