"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful: he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13
Temptation is all around us. It is not something that goes away with age or maturity. So it is one of those things that we must learn how to deal with because if we don't it will eat us alive. There are so many things that can be classified as tempting and for each person it can be different; sex, drugs, alcohol, candy, food, and the list goes on and on. Some temptations are small and wont really effect our lives in great ways, but others could completely alter our lives forever. The verse above should give us comfort though. We ALL are tempted. It is one of those things that every single human on this earth has in common. Jesus was even tempted (Matthew 4:1-11)! So we can take comfort in knowing that this is a normal part of life and NONE of us are different or weird because of our temptations.
But even more comforting is that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. An interesting question was posed this past Sunday night with our high school students as we discussed this verse; "How do we know that we can handle the temptation that is in front of us?" Terrific question! But not an easy one to answer! Really, like many other things in our lives, it comes down to faith. Just like we have to believe that God loves us no matter what and that he is always with us taking care of us, we too HAVE TO believe that God is walking through temptation with us making sure that the situations we get into are manageable by us. We have to have faith that this is true. This doesn't mean that we wont be challenged (I don't know of many situations that God doesn't challenge us!). We might have to call on our friends and family for support, but maybe that is how God is working. Maybe because we have to lean on others to get through temptation, that is God working in us to build relationships and spread love. Boy does He work in some crazy ways!!
So fear not, God is always with us. Have faith and remember when you are tempted you have the ability to defeat it! Maybe not on your own, but with God anything is possible. All you have to do is have faith...maybe cave into the positive temptation that is out there, and that is being tempted by God to fully believe that he is present to you all the time, walking with you, and loving you NO MATTER WHAT!!!
God loves you and so do I! Peace!
1 comment:
Very topical (and true!). And we are coming into the time of year when a lot of people (including yours truly) are tempted by excesses - eating and drinking too much, spending too much money.
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