"She does WHAT?" As we walked out of class, a friend told me something surprising. A boy at our school, who I’ll call “Henry,” had persuaded his girlfriend, “Vanessa,” to do his homework for him. When another student asked Henry about this, he admitted that every school night Vanessa completed not only her own homework but Henry’s too.

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I felt indignant on Vanessa’s behalf. Why should she carry this extra load? Why had she ever agreed to this? But then I wondered... How would I respond if a person I cared about—or a person I was in a long-term relationship with—pressured me to do something I wasn’t comfortable with?

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When we place our faith in Jesus and enter a loving relationship with God our Father, we receive His Spirit. In John 14, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth,” promising He will be in us and guide us in God’s truth, no matter what situations, pressures, or temptations we face.

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In difficult situations like these, setting verbal boundaries can often help, giving us a way to sidestep pressure from others to do something we don’t believe God would want for us. We can say things like the following: “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “No, that’s just not for me.” “No, I’m not comfortable with that.” Or you could make your parents the bad guys and say, “No way! My parents would go crazy if they found out!” Most parents and grandparents wouldn’t mind if it helped protect you from sinful and/or dangerous choices and situations.

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In our broken world, we face struggles of all kinds—temptation, pressures, and other challenging situations; even Jesus Himself faced these things (Hebrews 4:14-16). For this reason, we can know we’re not alone, no matter what we face. • Allison Wilson Lee

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• Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. As Christians, what hope do we have when we face temptation?

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• If you are being pressured to do something that is wrong or that you are not comfortable with, who are trusted adults you can reach out to—such as parents, counselors, pastors, or teachers?

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[Jesus] has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)