It’s slippery out here

It’s slippery out here

Bible:Psalm 141

Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil (V.4).

Reading

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labour (V.24).

I remember having a go at skiing. I was pretty nervous, so I followed my friend down what looked like a gentle slope. With my eyes on him I didn’t notice that he turned down the steepest hill on the mountain, and I found myself careening down the slope, completely out of control. I crashed of course. Sin is like a slippery slope. Psalm 141 shows how we can easily find ourselves off course and headed for trouble. One way to avoid going off course is prayer. “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil” (PSALM 141:4) reminds me almost exactly of the prayer model Jesus taught: “Lead [me] not into temptation, but deliver [me] from the evil one” (MATTHEW 6:13). In His goodness, God hears and answers this prayer. This psalm also talks about another way God keeps us on the right path: God-centred friends. “Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it” (PSALM 141:5).
Temptations are subtle. We’re not always aware that we’re going wrong. A true friend can help us see the truth. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (PROVERBS 27:6 NKJV). It’s hard to accept when we’re being corrected, but if we see their hard words as a “kindness” we’ll be able to let them put us back on the path of obeying and loving God. Let’s try to be open to the things our parents, youth leaders and Christian friends say to us. And let’s make sure we keep relying on God through prayer

GOD GIVES US OTHER CHRISTIANS TO KEEP US
WALKING THE RIGHT WAY.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries