| “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 |
As a fire protection engineer, I am all too keenly aware of the many requirements levied by the International Building Code and the International Fire Code on the design, construction, and maintenance of the means of egress from a building. As a civilian, you may think of these as the “exits” from a building. And, you would be suitably amazed and impressed by the hundreds of regulations that go into making certain people can escape from a building during an emergency.
Finding a way out of trouble is a very, very important matter. It is just as true in the spiritual realm as it is in the physical realm. That likely explains why the Apostle Paul took such care to describe to the Christians gathered in the church at Corinth how they could escape from the temptation to commit sins. Please notice what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
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.
Temptations will always come our way, as long as we live on this earth. They come as a result of the sin nature we inherited through our parents from Adam. But, we do not need to yield to those temptations. God has always given us a means of “safe egress” from our temptations. In fact, part of the role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives is to nudge us toward the exit that God has provided.
As we begin a new day, let’s look at each temptation that may come our way as something from which we can escape. Let’s be aware of how the Holy Spirit may be opening up that way of escape. Then, let’s take full advantage of our way out—our way to spiritual safety.
Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, April 14, 2017
