“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
Amen! A few thoughts...
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I find that a comforting thought - except what is common to man! The enemy sometimes does well to whisper in our ear this lie: that the temptation's which oft besiege us are like none that any other soul suffers. Oh, if he can trap you with that thought, he can inflict great agony of soul. For if we believe the lie that we are altogether unworthy to come to our Lord and Saviour (because of our many sins and evil inclinations) we remain cut off from hope and help.
In the same way that a pride of lions maneuver to separate an antelope from the safety of the pack, so too does our enemy seek to draw us away from the safety of abiding in our Lord and Saviour. But, when we realize that the temptations which assail us are common to man, even to Christ himself (though He was tempted, yet remained without sin), the enemy is disarmed of this great dividing weapon.
He tries many ways to divert our attention, shift our gaze, weaken our faith, dash our hope – for while our eyes behold the Christ, and our hearts long after the Son of the living God, and our confidence remains in Him, the things of this world remain somewhat dim, the flesh somewhat subdued and temptation’s somewhat lacking in power.
Secondly, what a wonderful promise - God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.. Though “each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is dragged away an enticed”, we know that “He that is in us is greater than He that is in the world”. Our hope and confidence to resist temptation is not within our own ability, for we know what and who we are, but remains rather in Him! In and of ourselves we have no strength or ability to withstand the assaults of the enemy! Our flesh has been weakened by sin, in fact, before coming to Christ we were slaves to sin – unwilling and unable to mount any form of lasting resistance. Apart from Christ, we have no ability to ward of sustained attacks from the evil one. Can flesh and blood fight against principalities and powers? In the same way that the Romans besieged Jerusalem and, having cut off all means of resupply, brought the city to its destruction, so too will the enemy bring us to downfall through the means of temptation when we try to resist him in our own strength. We must learn to run to Him who will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it!
Amen to that, brother! What wonderful insight. Thank you for posting your thoughts, they made my morning.
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