I was overjoyed. It was Friday and payday. But I had a problem. I had no money to get the bus to my job to pick up my money.

I thought long and hard and decided that I would try to pass off an old ticket, hoping the bus driver wouldn’t notice. I walked to the bus stop, feeling sick about my decision. Facing this temptation to use deception, I thought of  Joseph.

When Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph (Genesis 39:6–12), he didn’t give in to the temptation. Instead, he ran from it. Joseph’s response gives us all a model for when temptation is present. God will deliver a way out of temptation; we just have to take it. I prayed for God to help me, and just as he rewarded Joseph for resisting temptation, he rewarded me as well.

When the bus came, I walked on behind everyone else with my used ticket – and then I walked back off, deciding not to lie. The bus driver called after me and allowed me to travel that day for free. Sometimes our problems may seem unbearable and insurmountable without deceit, but God knows. If we prayerfully look for another way out of the situation, we can find it.

Prayer: Dear Lord, teach us to trust you to give us strength when we face temptation. Amen