Who leads to the how

For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently. (I Corinthians 10:13 AMP)

A long passage for such a short verse, huh? In the more traditional translations, it reads: The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (NLT) I used the Amplified Version this morning because it does a nice job of breaking it down for us. No trial - regarded as enticement to sin - will take us down. NO trial. Those are strong words and they are backed with a strength not our own!

No matter how it comes or where it leads. We all know the enticement to sin isn't always presented in exactly the same manner each and every time. If we don't get 'tripped up' one way, the enemy of our soul will attempt to trip us up another. Why? We are making forward progress with Jesus, and he doesn't like it when we do. But God is faithful - those words speak of more strength to resist than all our human willpower put together could ever muster. We don't resist alone - he is right there giving us the wherewithal to resist. Don't ever forget that!

He can be trusted. So many times, we face temptation with a little bit of 'here we go again' mentality. We forget that Jesus can be trusted to show us the way out of that temptation each and every time - even when the enemy tries to trip us up time and time again. He will ALWAYS provide the way out - the means of escape to a landing place. Read that again and again until it really settles into your spirit. He will ALWAYS provide the way out, no matter how clever or manipulative the enemy will be, Jesus' care over our lives never ceases, nor does his 'prepared place for our safety' ever fail to exist.

Rarely do we see ourselves as capable or strong, much less powerful when faced with temptation. In fact, the opposite is quite true. We see ourselves as weak, incapable, and powerless in the face of that temptation. So much so that we find ourselves almost resigning ourselves to 'giving in' because we don't know how to resist. It isn't the 'how' we are missing - it is the trust in the 'who' that is behind that power and capability! The resistance 'capability' isn't just for the 'strong' or 'warriors' in this faith. It is for the ordinary guy and gal who want to put Jesus first in their lives. Get to know the 'who' of your faith and you will soon learn he is also the 'how' of your resisting temptation. Just sayin!