If the erogenous website Ashley Madison was a hurricane, it would be classified as a category 5 storm. Damaging winds have reportedly spread debris over all but three zip codes in the entire U.S.

For adrenaline pumping storm chasers this might sound like the storm of the year to track. But beware: travelling too close to these 155+ mile an hour winds leaves you liable to be sucked up in the raging vortex yourself. For we weren’t created to withstand that amount of force against us.

Just ask Josh Duggar.

The bottom line to me in this story is one Ashley Madison illustrates beautifully: Your sin will find you out.

Whether it’s a website security breech, a friend who swore she wouldn’t tell or fingerprints you thought you swept clean that somehow re-surfaced, sooner or later what is done in the darkness will be exposed. It may even be blasted over the loud speakers.

Jesus said in John 12:35, “Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.”

Jesus offers to help us walk in the light, but we have to listen.

Because around the corner, Satan whispers that we can walk in the dark and no one will know. It will be his little secret. He promises.

Ashley Madison promised to scrub their subscriber’s tracks clean – with a paid subscription no one would know your computer I.D. visited the site. But in reality they just hid the evidence from the outside world. Hackers broke in with flashlights and shined light on the evidence they needed to prove it a scam.

Jesus does the same thing. He shines light on the devil’s lies that prove his scams.

So what do we do about the temptations that look so appealing? As believers, will we continue to walk in the dark stormy night listening to the Devil’s lies? Or will we cross over, expose our ugly deeds to the light of Jesus and walk in His light?

The Josh Duggar case is merely one that has surfaced after the hacking of the Ashley Madison site, which has exposed the heart of many Americans. If more than half of marriages end in divorce these recent stats prove even more are plagued with infidelity. This idea that we can look at but just not touch doesn’t hold water.

If we want a marriage that stands the bullet holes of temptation, specifically the shot of unfaithfulness, we must learn to be uncomfortable.

The opposite of pride is humility. Pride says I’m spiritually fit enough to handle this.  To combat that pride we need large doses of humble pie daily. And that is, frankly, uncomfortable.

Here’s the reality:

• None of us are above temptation.
• None of us have perfect marriages.
• None of us have perfect pasts.
• None of us have it all together.

We’re not strong enough to handle category 5 winds of temptation alone. Storm chasers aren’t out there alone without specially built cars and high tech equipment.

Satan loves to pull out old sin or sinful tendencies from our closet and dangle them in front of us. Those things we thought we had dealt with but didn’t fully. If ignored, if not nailed daily to the cross, they will come back to bite us.

So what do we do? Allow temptation to have its way in us? No! We combat the pride and walk in the Light.

4 ways to combat pride

1. Humble our self and admit the areas we’re weak in.
2. Confess our sins and ask for forgiveness where needed to deny Satan a stronghold in that area.
3. Take the hand of our spouse or close friend and allow them to help us walk in the light.
4. Flee temptation and stand firm against the Enemy.

Satan is stronger than we are on our own, but not stronger than God. Darkness can attempt to overtake us, but exposing those things that want to stay hidden in the shadows will make Satan flee.

So what plagues you? Thoughts? Images? Imaginations? Hauntings of the past? We all have them. It’s called our old man. The good news is for the Believer, the old man is dead. Crucified with Christ. We are now new Creatures alive to walk in the fullness of Christ. The old has gone, behold, the new is here.

When a hurricane is predicted in the area, the news calls for an evacuation. Those who risk staying around, board up their windows and lock themselves in. In the same way, sometimes Jesus tells us to evacuate the scene to escape destruction. Other times He says, “Stay. Take shelter in me. I am enough.”

It takes being in tune with the Holy Spirit to know which choice to make. I pray we are listening.

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