“But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”
Maybe when your eyes read the word “temptation,” your thoughts instantly flash to a particular weak spot. Just one of my weak spots I immediately think of is overeating, and that’s been almost a lifelong struggle. I’ve learned that no matter how mature a Christian is, they still struggle with temptation, even about the same issue over and over again—because we are all human. Satan will never give up trying to bait us with forbidden fruit.
However, God provides such grace in today’s verse. He encourages us by giving us a community of others tempted in the same way who can support us. And he also puts a limit on the strength of the temptation, while also providing a way out…how wonderful!
My faithwalk has grown exponentially as I have connected to my church small group. By meeting with my small group, I am part of the body of Christ and I am encouraged that I’m not alone. I can’t count the number of times that another Christian woman shares a struggle at small group, and I am so relieved that I don’t have to feel alone in that same struggle anymore.
That’s why it’s so important to reach out, as hard as it is, to other people during our times of need. Satan wants us to feel like our struggle is unique, but God tells us differently. We can make the choice to connect to supportive friends.
Another blessing God provides is staying with us himself during our temptation. Remember the story of Job? Any evil that Satan wanted to inflict upon Job had to be first approved by God—and God set limits on it. If you read the whole book of Job, you will see the purpose of Job’s suffering was to test Job’s faith, and once he passed the test, he received far greater blessing than he had had before the trials began.
God promises the same for each of us. Anything that happens to us, good or bad, must first pass through God’s hands before it gets to us. That’s how he sets limits on what we can endure. He won’t give us what we can’t handle—that is, without his help and without the help of other people. It’s our responsibility to look for the way out, and to connect to others during those difficult times. And speaking from my own experience, the blessings he provides after the trial are sweeter than I would have ever known, had I not gone through it.
While I write these words, I realize that many of you may feel alone and completely overwhelmed by whatever situation you face. Read this verse again and again, and meditate upon it, thinking about how you can apply it to your life. Jesus himself was tempted, and he understands what you’re going through. Ask him for help, and he will provide a way out and a friend to help you—if you watch and listen.
Copyright 2009
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