1 CORINTHIANS 10:12–13
Saying no to temptation is not easy because we are not tempted by things that aren’t appealing or attractive to us. For me, drugs were a big struggle for me. It seemed like everyone was doing them, and it was hard to be different, to not give in. Looking back, I see that I was in a shaky place in my relationship with God, and the people I hung out with were not the friends I thought they were. They accepted me because I was just like them, and it felt good to be a part of the “in crowd,” to be accepted by them. But when I finally stopped doing drugs, my friends suddenly stopped accepting me or liking me at all. They liked the person who I was pretending to be, but not the real me. It took a while for me to realize that they weren’t my friends at all; their friendship was conditional. Now I know that real friends are there no matter what, and they will love you for the real you, not for being who they want you to be. In my temptations and struggles with drugs and friends, I see that God was with me in all of it. He showed me that there was a way out, a way to be who He made me to be.
Sara York, 16, Antioch High School, Antioch, TN
God, when I turn to other things besides You,
show me the way back to You. Because that’s
where I really want to be.