Today’s Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV- “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.”
We must be careful not to trust in ourselves. Since the beginning of time, we have witnessed and experienced humankind falling to temptation. Temptation comes in many forms, and we recognize, most times after we have fallen to our temptations, that God is the only faithful one.
It is easy to gaze and act upon temptations that lie before us. Fortunately, God always is before us too. Paul reminds us that even those people following God through the wilderness who were following God’s cloud, eating His manna, and drinking His water pouring from a rock, fell to temptation.
Do we think we cannot fail? In Celebrate Recovery, Step 10 is “We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12, is the biblical comparison provided which states “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
Paul was warning us not to trust ourselves. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that God is faithful. We must rely on God’s faithfulness and not our own. We are promised that God will provide us a way out. To see God’s way out we must look to God. If we look too long at our temptations, we will fall. We must be careful to recognize where we are focusing our attention.
It is mind-boggling how quickly we can turn to temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 does not say “if” you are tempted, it states “when” we are tempted. But thanks be to God, He is always faithful and always provides our way out.
When we find ourselves tempted, we can look to God and remember who He is and ask Him to provide our way out. 1 Corinthians 10:14 instructs us to flee from our idolatry. We must flee towards Jesus Christ, the rock, and away from evil. We are not strong enough to face our temptations alone. But running to Jesus in times of temptation is our only hope. God uses each of us to help our brothers and sisters out of temptation as well.
We are free to make choices and God’s faithfulness helps us look to what is good for all of us. We can do what is beneficial for us and others. We can do our best to do what glorifies God, yet we need God and His faithfulness to do what is best. God has given us His Word for us to follow His Ways and the example of Jesus Christ and even other people. When tempted, God and His Word are our way out. We can always look and flee to them. Will we?
Today’s Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for providing a way out of our temptations when we are weak. Redirect our gaze LORD to You and Your Word. Christ was the rock of old and our rock today. Help us to flee from our temptations and idols into Your arms Father God. Thank You LORD for providing us with Your ways and Your faithfulness. Help us to do what is right for You and all others. Amen.
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