Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 7, 2018
My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon. Proverbs 7:19–20
How do you deal with temptation when you travel? Conversely, what is your behavior when you are the spouse left back at home? Is your house a palace of peace or a prison of confinement? Not only must the weary traveler be wary of wrong behavior, but also the one left holding down the fort. Perhaps as a couple you craft guidelines defining what you will and will not do while separated by travel.
Distance can grow the heart fonder and more faithful or fire the flames of lust and infidelity. If you travel for your work, you most likely are motivated to meet the needs of your family. However, every assignment is for a season. Maybe it is time to get off the road and reconnect with your child who is approaching the teen years, or be there more often for your spouse who is starved for extra emotional support. Just be willing to adjust.
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33–34).
Moreover, do not drift into travel temptations that become divisive and deteriorate your marriage. One boundary may be to avoid bars and get back to your room soon after work and dinner. A righteous routine on the road gets the right results. Whenever possible, make it a priority to travel with another person of similar values. Be bold by becoming an influencer of integrity: good, clean fun without flirting with sin. On the other hand, your role in the marriage may be to support the children and manage the home daily. Take pride, not pity, during this season of unselfish service.
By God’s grace you are molding their minds to the things of Christ, influencing the culture with His kingdom priorities. As you are working to preserve the family, you are as valuable as the one out working to provide for the family. Stay occupied in prayer, Bible study, and the children’s school, and be available to those who need you. Marriage is a team effort that sees outstanding results when you are both on the same page of love and obedience to Christ. Travel temptations are terminated on both ends through trust in the Lord and trust in each other.
“He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him” (Psalm 22:8).
Application
What behavioral boundaries related to our time apart do I need to co-create with my spouse?Related Reading
Numbers 5:11–15; Isaiah 46:6; Luke 12:39–46; 1 John 3:9Post/Tweet today
Marriage is a team effort that gets the best results when both wife and husband love and obey Christ. #temptation #wisdomhuntersWorship Resource
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Boyd, you and your Team are truly inspirational. I read your Daily Devotion most mornings as the first thing I do to get the day started. I particularly appreciated todays devotional. For the last 5 years of my career I traveled extensively internationally. I averaged around 100 days a year out of the U.S. During these years I can’t tell you how many times I was offered “sin on a platter”. All I had to do was say yes. To keep such temptation at bay I had 5 personal principles of conduct that served me well. I always tried to travel with a business associate, I called home everyday I was traveling (not always possible, but always attempted), to keep any one trip to 12 days or less, to pray with my wife before a trip, to stay focused on the purpose of the trip.
Dear Mark,
Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to us with your wise and discerning comments about traveling and the temptations that go along with it. Your personal principles of conduct are powerful and obviously, effective. We appreciate you sharing them with us. I shared your response with Boyd and the rest of the WH staff. Thank you so much. Your faithfulness and obedience honors God and certainly Shines His Light for the rest of us.
We look forward to hearing from you again in the future and please know, we are thankful that you are a fellow wisdom hunter.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“Seek the Lord and His Strength; seek His face continually.” Psalm 105:4
“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridgegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10