The Tempest of Temptation

A Liturgy

Photo by Idin Ebrahimi on Unsplash

in the middle of the 2am insomnia

the rudely timed nausea

the restless movements

the sinking emptiness

the painful longing

I have a choice

to choose to go back to wine I never liked

or the pills that never lasted

or the anger that only burned

I could run 50 miles a week

shop to no end

bite my nails off

I could leave for the coast

or disappear in the mountains

or burry myself in an avalanche of blankets

but none of these things hold hope

hold life

are You

and so I ask, as temptation weighs

as it knocks with its old familiar sound

that each thud reminds me of You

Your nail torn hands

Your dark night

Your suffering

and let me see that in it, I am met

with the One who endured so that we could endure, not alone, not despite.

but

in, during, throughout.

1 Corinthians 10:13

New International Version

¹³ No temptation^[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted^[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,^[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.