Our plateau jutted out the sudden eastern edge of the Andes mountains. It ran east 10 more miles, almost flat, until it dropped over a cliff 2,000 feet into the Amazon Jungle below. Weather from the northeast hit the cliffs first, accelerated upward, then smacked against the massive peaks behind. So, it rained. A lot. Twenty-one feet per year. We called three rainless days a drought—broiling sun and oppressive humidity. Lumbering trucks and packed buses morphed dirt roads into towering billows of fine, choking dust visible from the air as undulating brown ribbons.

Fortunately, the normal daily rhythm alternated between brilliant sky and drenching rain. The sunny skies hosted dazzling storm cloud remnants and a lifetime of rainbows. A couple hours later, fierce gray clouds bunched to cool the air but released a deluge. Thick torrents obscured the opposite side of the road and stung if walked through. Closely held umbrellas protected head to waist. Everything else soaked.

The surprise came within our hangar’s sanctuary. We temporarily suspended takeoffs and landings, huddled inside, and tried to do other work. Meeting, however, was impossible. A gazillion hurtling drops per second crashed onto our tin roof. The roar overwhelmed all other sound—tool noise, radio calls, even shouted speech.

Somedays, to me, it resembled temptation’s onslaught. A bellowed attack that threatened to sweep me away like a stick in a storm. It shrieked, “Resistance is futile. Come away with me!” My head knowledge that [fill in your own temptation of choice here] led only to destruction. Like the tin roof, it barely held the assault at bay. The harder I tried not to think about it, the stronger that desire became.

But then I remembered. Walking with Jesus is not a matter of following a list of “dos” and “don’ts.” It’s surrendering to his authority as pilot-in-command. That fills us with his power and enables us to withstand the enemy’s aggression. Then, previously invisible escape hatches appear, and the torrent’s roar is silenced.

So, what happened the last time you almost gave in?

1 Corinthians 10:13