Escape

As humans, we have the characteristics of pride and arrogance. This is something that is supposed to die when we become followers of Jesus, but sadly, this is one of those deadly sins that seems to grab hold and not let go of us.

Let us not confuse confidence with pride, though. Confidence is a good thing, as long as we understand what or who we have confidence in. The Apostle Paul gives a warning in I Corinthians 10:12-13, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

This is a dire warning for those of us who follow Jesus to be very careful in understanding that, even though we have eternal life and are forgiven of all sin, we must not become arrogant or think we have it all together, possess all the answers, or believe we can avoid temptation. Paul says to be careful because that kind of thinking comes right before the fall. We would do well to be reminded that we face a strong and powerful enemy. I Peter 5:8 reminds us, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” The enemy loves the ones who are arrogant in their faith because they are easy prey.

Even though this is true, Paul gives us a wonderful truth. No temptation has not happened before. Everyone who has ever walked on this earth faces the same temptations and snares. The hope comes in the truth that even though we face some very tough temptations and we can find ourselves at the precipice of sin, of falling, our God is faithful in two ways. 1) God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. This is sometimes confused with the idea that we will not have any life circumstances come upon us that we cannot handle. This is not what the Lord is saying. In this text, the Lord refers to temptation, not life’s burdens. We often face things that we cannot handle, and it is in those times that we must rely upon the Lord to get us through.

2) When temptation comes upon us, the Lord always, always gives us a way to escape the temptation so that we do not have to fall into sin. This is so important that we realize that we do not have to sin. Sin is a conscious choice we make to go against our Lord’s will. When we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are no longer victims but conquerors, and we have been given the ability to stand against the temptations of the evil one. I challenge you to stand strong, and when tempted, be like Joseph and run for the hills. Run to fight another day. Our King has granted us the ability to be victorious, so let’s take on the full armor of God and watch our King win the day once again.