"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptations He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it."
1 Corinthians 10:13, HCSB
It is an awesome privilege, leading young men in a small group. We study (currently in the Gospel of John), we pray, and we hold each other accountable. We test each other and task growth to each other. And at the end of each day, I share a prayer for them... and I know that they each pray for me.
However, they are in so volatile a time in their lives, because it is their senior year of high school. The whole world is about to expand exponentially for them, and they will need the strength of their Savior more than ever. They will also need the iron sharpening iron from other brothers in Christ, and a relationship of honest accountability to remain strong and effective for the Kingdom. And as we sat down to discuss temptation and difficulties arising from it, this verse came up.
As I've said before, the issue is not knowing that there is a way to get free from the temptation. The issue is finding it... and the bigger issue is whether or not you're looking for it. I have ignored the way out, even though it was blatantly obvious to me, and that yields nothing positive. As a matter of fact, at one point in my life, I grew so numb to any way out that I almost lost myself in the 7 I'm going through, and it cost me friendships and trust and love and much more. It's not a price tag I encourage anyone to chase after.
So I'll pose a challenging question to you today. Do you see the way out from whatever it is you're facing right now? Do you know that God is providing one for you? Do you trust that it will be exactly what you need to free yourself from whatever it is that currently ails your spirit? Further commitment to any given sin is not the escape, and no matter how cool it was in the movie, no one really ever needs to see "how deep the rabbit hole goes." The only thing we need to do is find the means of escape, the holy and blessed means of escape that our Heavenly Father has placed in our view.
I'll also pose an accountable question to you today. Are you seeking that way out, or are you content in your sins? Are you? Really, really think about it, and ponder whether or not it is something you are seeking. That path exists, and finding it isn't usually that hard... but if you're not even searching for it (whether from pride or laziness or lust or any other sin), then there is a whole other set of problems that must be discussed.
For now, though, as we cover these specific 7 sins, please keep in mind the words above that there is nothing that is allowed to overtake you. The awesome part of that statement is that God is not going to allow you, a Christian, to be run by temptation and sin... the horrible part of it is that when temptation and sin run your life, you allowed it to happen. But rest peacefully in the truth that there IS a way out!
God bless you all!!!
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