Temptation

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 Corinthians 10:13  (NIV)

I'm sure you've heard it said before, "God won't give you more than you can handle," and I used to believe that...and I've said that to others in rough patches too.  You know how it is, you're trying to reassure someone and you offer them that piece of advice.  After all, that is in the Bible, or is it?

The words used in the above verse relate to temptations.  He doesn't say that you won't be given adversity and difficult situations.  He tells us that we won't be tempted beyond what we can bear.  But my favorite part of this verse is the second part of that verse where He tells us that He will provide us a way out  so we can endure it.

We have sort of used this as the theme or motto for our high school/college age youth group.  What teenager isn't faced with temptation of one sort or another on a daily basis?  (The same could be said about adults too!)  It is important to let our children (and others) know that there will continue to be temptations and struggles regardless of whether Christ is in our hearts.  Those things don't just up and disappear at a certain age.  It doesn't matter if we're 15, 30 or 60, we all struggle with temptations. 

Our hope lies in the second part of this verse, "He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."  We must call out to God for help with the temptation and he will equip us with what we need to get through it.  Does that mean that that fresh, warm, gooey pan of chocolate brownies will suddenly disappear from the counter so that I don't eat the whole pan?  Hmm, well, maybe not exactly like that (although if a certain precious 80-lb beast of a puppy jumped up there and ate it...oh, wait, chocolate is deadly to dogs...scratch that.)

Seriously though, it is amazing that sometimes you can look back on a situation in which you were tempted with something, trying to figure out what to do and how suddenly a Plan B appeared...that was God.  It could be as simple as a telephone call distracting you (me) from that pan of brownies, or a friend texting at the right moment to give you a better (safer) option for a Saturday night. 

I find myself whispering to myself "Devil, get outta here!" every now and then when I feel temptation creeping up on me.  Sometimes, I even know the temptation is coming and I choose to ignore doing what is right because I want what I shouldn't have.  As a simple example, for instance, the car I am riding in is stopping at DQ and how do I get out of this without having a hot fudge sundae?  I know that I shouldn't, I know that I should just get a diet Pepsi or a simple child-size cone, but instead I order the hot fudge sundae and feel guilty.  That is a situation where I could have easily asked God for a little help with overcoming that temptation, to provide a way out, i.e. the Diet Pepsi, but instead chose to fulfill my own desires.

I just got back from a quick visit with Grandma Great who is in the nursing home.  She has been worried for weeks about February 1, because that meant another weigh-in.  I suppose I can relate to that (only it's every Tuesday!)  She had gained a few pounds on her January weigh-in and was super concerned about tacking on more weight...why?  Because she has finally gotten into size 14 pants and doesn't want to have to go back to buying 16's or 18's.  I have to laugh because the woman is 93, almost 94 years old and she is still worrying about her pant size.  Heaven help us, will we never stop!?

Today she shoved a ziplock bag of chips, cheese and crackers and two sugar cookies (Bingo prizes) into my hands and told me to take them home, she had gained another 7 pounds and she was done with the sweets.  Just like that.  Bravo to her for being so strong.  A 7-pound weight gain tends to make me feel depressed, and I would probably be more inclined to eat some cake or cookies...or a hot fudge sundae to make myself feel better.  Now, thanks to Grandma Great, I have a bag of goodies in my car that I'm gonna have to toss out the window or something.

Sometimes all we have to do is remove the temptation, and sometimes all we need to do is call up the name of the Lord to help us get past it.  Temptation will never go away, even at 93 years of age.  Memorize this verse, friends, it is a good one!

Correction:  Grandma told me last night that she had gained 1 pound since her January weigh-in and 7 pounds since she entered the nursing home last March...I keep reminding her that when she entered the nursing home, she had been on a feeding tube!  Anyway, I wanted to correct her weight gain...she may get mad at me :)