“Now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.”

In this verse, Solomon is specifically warning young men about prostitutes. I doubt many of you reading this devotion this morning are struggling with prostitution—although you may be, and if so, pay close attention to what Solomon says in this chapter. But most of us find our temptation toward sin in other areas. Sexual temptation today comes in many more widely available and insidious forms. There’s also a long list of sins in Scripture—any of which Satan uses to trip us up and, as Solomon says at the end of this chapter, steal our lives. As in this verse, sin and temptation are everywhere. I’ve mentioned before, and I’m reminded again, of Jay Kessler’s statement from years ago that a junior high student faces more sexual temptation on their way to and from school today than our grandfathers did going out looking for it on Friday or Saturday night. Satan knows not only where we are, but where our tender places, brokenness, and dark weaknesses lie. And he does not hesitate to go after them. He truly is everywhere. The place where we find great security in a world flooded with the influence of the evil one is that, as followers of Christ, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit. In our hearts and minds—surrounding us, leading and guiding us, and protecting us—is the presence of God. When we walk willfully in sin, we open that door; to the extent that we do, we quench that presence. But God is committed to conforming us to the image of His Son, sealing us securely in His Spirit, and ultimately bringing us home to Himself. We find power and rest in those truths. Today, flee sin and run to your Father. #BeTheEdge

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 NIV