There’s always another way…

It may not say in the Bible that God won’t give you more than you can handle, but it does say that He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond what you can take.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.” 1 Cor. 10:13 NIV

There is nothing you are suffering with that is new to humanity. The sins we struggle with today are essentially the same sins that have been around forever. They may be packaged differently, but at their core they are not new, even if we want them to be.

And where does the temptation come from? It isn’t from God…

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”  James 1:13 NIV

Temptation comes from Satan and our own sinful hearts…

We may find ourselves drawn in by sin, and in our humanity our first response is often to pretend it isn’t there. When we can no longer ignore it, we try to justify it. “Did God really say [that] …?” Gen. 3:1

Then we go on to thinking (if we don’t turn from it) that sin isn’t that bad. “You will not certainly die?” Gen. 3:4. And if we believe this lie, our hearts take the next step and:

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Gen. 3:6 NIV

When we look through Genesis 3, we see that sin brought shame and separation from God. And this is the battle we face as well. The desire in the flesh is to sin, but the freedom from sin is through the Holy Spirit.

And with this, 1 Cor. 10 should give us great hope. “He will provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Cor. 10:13

The greatest challenge is that Satan is so cunning, and he knows us, he knows the word of God, and he knows how to manipulate things so that they make sense. This is why we must look to Christ for a way out. We need to look to Jesus for strength to endure, knowing that He is with us and He can give us the strength to do what is right. We just need to fight the fight, and let God be God in our lives.

When God gives us His way out, it will always be the best way.

Lord, sin is so enticing, but my desire is to be obedient to You. Give me the strength to endure, and stand firm. Keep me from the lies of the evil one, and help me to keep my eyes focused on You. In Jesus’ mighty name…