Elsie was heading to the playroom to see if any of her little friends were up when she passed an open door off the hallway. From it came the distinctive, and not altogether welcome, voice of Miss Stevens.

"Elsie, you lovely little creature. Come in and see what I have for you."

Reluctantly, Elsie entered the room, and Miss Stevens, chattering gaily, first insisted that Elsie take a seat and then began rummaging in a drawer. What she found there was a large package which, with the prettiest of smiles, she placed in Elsie's hands.

Such temptation! Elsie could see that the package contained all her favorite candies and treats, and she would dearly have loved to taste each and every one of them. But her Papa was very strict about what she ate and had instructed her never to take candy of any kind unless he gave his express permission.

Though she wanted to accept the gift, Elsie had to say, politely, "Thank you very much, Miss Stevens, but Papa has told me not to take candy from anyone. He does not approve of children eating sweets."

Miss Stevens pouted. "That's too bad," she said, "but surely you can have one or two pieces, at least. They are really delicious, and they can't possibly hurt you. Your father need never know."

Elsie was surprised by this offer. "But Miss Stevens," she said, "God would know, and I would know. How could I look at my Papa if I deceived him?"

The lady laughed. "My dear child, I believe you are making a mountain from a molehill. I have deceived my father many times over such trifles, with no harm done. But I won't press you. In fact, I have something that I am sure you will want" -- she reached back into the same drawer from which the candy had come -- "and I bought it particularly for you."

Taking the bag of candy from Elsie's hands, Miss Stevens replaced it with a beautifully bound book. Elsie's eyes grew round with delight, for books were her greatest pleasure. Still, she felt somewhat uncomfortable receiving a gift from someone she did not respect, and she made an effort to decline. Miss Stevens would hear none of it, and finally Elsie took the book with genuine gratitude. She began to turn the pages and could see that it was a very interesting book.

"Aren't the pictures beautiful, dear?" Miss Stevens asked. "And the stories are very good, too."

"I hope that I can read them," Elsie replied, "but Papa doesn't allow me to read anything until he has approved of it. I will have to wait until he returns to ask his permission."

"How strict your father is!" Miss Stevens remarked, wondering to herself if Horace would try to dominate a wife as he did his daughter.

" Never mind, child," Miss Stevens went on. "Come sit by me, and I will read one of the stories to you. That would be alright because you would not be reading."

"Thank you, Miss Stevens. I know you're being kind, but that would be disobeying all the same," Elsie said. She was becoming anxious that the lady would tempt her further, so closing the book and tucking it under her arm, she made her excuses -- thanking Miss Stevens once more -- and left to find her friends.

The other girls were gathered in the playroom, and they all agreed the book was quite beautiful. They spent some time pouring over the lovely engravings, but Elsie resolutely refused to read even a word without her father's approval.

From Elsie's Impossible Choice, Book 2, chapter 3

Can you pinpoint Elsie's way of escape with Miss Stevens? It's really quite simple! Read this passage once again and see how God gave her a way of escape:

"Elsie, you lovely little creature. Come in and see what I have for you."

Reluctantly, Elsie entered the room, and Miss Stevens, chattering gaily, first insisted that Elsie take a seat and then began rummaging in a drawer. What she found there was a large package which, with the prettiest of smiles, she placed in Elsie's hands.

Such temptation! Elsie could see that the package contained all her favorite candies and treats, and she would dearly have loved to taste each and every one of them. But her Papa was very strict about what she ate and had instructed her never to take candy of any kind unless he gave his express permission.

Though she wanted to accept the gift, Elsie had to say, politely, "Thank you very much, Miss Stevens, but Papa has told me not to take candy from anyone. He does not approve of children eating sweets."

Elsie had a choice to make in the moment she knew right from wrong. She could either obey her father's rules and explain to Miss Stevens, or she could have ignored the truth and given in to the temptation. God will give you a way of escape when you face temptation, but only you can make the decision to take that escape route or not.

Jesus Was Tempted

In Matthew 4 we read of the time when Satan tempted Jesus:

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'

Jesus answered, 'It is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." '

You see, Jesus knew and obeyed His Father's commands. Jesus was tempted, but because He knew the truth, He was able to escape temptation. It's important for you to know right from wrong in your own life. The Bible will give you guidelines for your life - it teaches you right from wrong and how to deal with temptation. Your parents also give you guidelines to follow. Knowing the rules, knowing the truth in Scripture, and then obeying those guidelines will help you overcome temptation, just like Elsie, and just like Jesus!

God Leads Us Into Victory!

Here's another bit of good news, found in 2 Corinthians 2:14: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ. . ." This means that God always leads us into victory! When we give our hearts to Jesus and live our lives with the intentions to obey and love God, we reap so many wonderful blessings!

But What If I Fall?

Now, even with all of this wonderful truth in Scripture, we must face up to the reality that sometimes we will fall and give in to temptation. So what do we do then? Give up and not try again? Of course not! Read this passage found in Hebrews 4:15-16:

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

God has provided it all for us. It's that simple, and it's so wonderful! Jesus, our high priest, understands the pressures of the world. He understands how temptations can be difficult to resist. And best of all, Jesus has compassion for us! When we fail, we know that we can go to the throne of grace and ask the Lord to forgive us and help us overcome the next trial. With Jesus, we find mercy and grace in our time of need.

Wrapping It Up

So as you can see from our study, responding properly to temptation is an important habit to get in to. We must be prepared by knowing and obeying the rules set before us. When we allow our evil desires to control us, it leads to sin and death. And responding to temptation is possible when we follow God's lead and trust in His Word! God never allows us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, and He always provides a way of escape when we are being tempted! The next time you find yourself being lured into sin, look for that way of escape and run to it! God will get you out of it; you just have to look for it! We also learned that God leads us into victory! Once again, we must be willing to follow. When you recognize your way out of temptation, take it! This is following God into victory! And finally, we learned that even when we do fail, we can approach the throne of grace and receive mercy, forgiveness and love! Now you are equipped to respond to temptation in your life. Give glory to God for His wonderful provision!