LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to
man. 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 stand up under it.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

MEDITATION:
Satan basically has two goals, doesn’t he?
    (1) To keep the lost from being saved, and,
    (2) to create misery in the lives of those who
           are saved, by causing them to sin.
He doesn’t have to spend a lot of time with the lost because
they already belong to him. This gives him much more time
to devise ways to hamper and hinder the saved.

We may think we have the capability to fight off his temptations
but the truth is, he has been around much longer than us and as
a result, he is very good at what he does. We should never feel so
independent that we don’t need the Lord’s help with our ‘battles’.
Even if our intentions are good, we are treading on thin ice when
we think we can defend against Satan in our own strength.

At times, we may want to test our own resistance to Satan’s
temptations, but when we do, more than likely we will be
disappointed with the results. Maybe not every time, but
more often than not, we will probably be unsuccessful in
our own efforts.

There may be times when we may think, “God I’ve got this!”
We may feel that we are doing the Lord a favor by giving Him
more time for helping those with greater needs. But the danger
with this type of thinking is, our formidable opponent is more
powerful than we realize and will say to us, “No, I’ve got this!”

When he flexes his power and we yield to the very thing we
thought we could ‘handle’, we can experience a huge setback
in our efforts to travel the road of righteousness. We can also
become overwhelmed by the realization that we failed to prove
how we can defend ourselves in our own strength.

There are times when one failure can put us on a slippery slope
to more failures. Satan wants to convince us that since we failed
once, another failure isn’t a big deal, it’s really just a part of our
first failure. When he is successful in distracting us from the Lord,
he can lead us down a path of multiple failures.

Whenever we fail once, our sensitivity to sin has been numbed
somewhat and we discover it is easier to yield to temptation the
the next time. When we fail, Satan can convince us that because
we are overwhelmed with guilt we should avoid coming before
the Lord, because He doesn’t love us anymore.

When that happens, we find ourselves praying less, reading the
Bible less, and worshipping God less. Satan is bent on destroying
our relationship with the Lord, but God is bent on maintaining
and increasing our fellowship with Him.

God knows the temptations that “are common to man”, and the
struggles we have with them. He is also faithful in His desire for
us to remain in constant fellowship with Him, so He provides us
with an ‘escape route’ whenever we are tempted by Satan.

Have you ever been tempted to do something you know displeases
God, but something (or multiple things) seemed to ‘get in the way’
of your doing it? It may be something very brief that you could
circumvent as you pursue the temptation. However, that ‘thing’
(or things) may be the ‘way out’ God was providing for you.

If Satan is getting the upper hand, then you will ignore the obstacle
and continue toward the sin. However, if you pause and realize that
God is giving you a way to avoid the sin, you can have a resounding
victory over the temptation and enjoy praising God for rescuing you.

Remember, God wants our ‘dependence’ and not our ‘independence’.
When we become independent, we are implying that we don’t need
the Lord’s help. Christians can have sinful thoughts the same as
non-Christians, however, God gives those who belong to Him an
opportunity to make the right choice instead of the wrong one.

Whenever you see or know of folks praising and worshipping the
Lord as a group, it should serve as a reminder to us that they have
chosen worship over giving into the temptation of replacing it with
something else.

We can all be tempted in many ways, but when we are, it’s
the decisions we make that define the strength of our faith.
Part of our decision process should include seeking the ‘way 
out’ God has provided for us to avoid giving in to temptations.

ACTION:
Who is winning your battles with temptations? Are you battling
them in your own strength, or are you depending on the Lord
and looking for the ‘way out’ He has provided?

Satan not only tempts us to do sinful things, but he also tempts
us to avoid fellowshipping with the Lord. Many have said,
    “I can worship the Lord at home by myself,
      or while fishing, playing golf, etc.”
But we have to ask ourselves,
    “Why He would give us His command to worship together
    (Hebrews 10:24-25) if He was okay with our worshipping
    alone”?

He tells us that some are “in the habit” of “giving up meeting
together”. We are told that we should meet together “even more”
as we “see the Day approaching”.

God has told us through His Word that we should 
    “spur one another to love and do good deeds”
and to
    “encourage one another“ as the Day approaches.

If we choose to worship in our own way (alone), then how can
we ‘spur’ and ‘encourage’ others if we are not in contact with
them? How can we pray for any needs and concerns they have
without any lines of communication?

When the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, the public was told to avoid
crowds as much as possible and this impacted the churches. But as
a result of their desire to continue sharing God’s Word, there were
many churches which created new ways for the members to worship
together in spirit. We should continue to thank the Lord for those
faithful servants who often preached to an almost empty sanctuary.

Some bible study classes also continued to worship together through
the use of social media as their venue. Although they weren’t meeting
together physically, to some it resulted in a greater spiritual type of
group worship. Some classes created new venues for keeping touch
with each other during the week, rather than only on Sunday.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank you for knowing my struggles
and for providing me with a way to escape temptations
from the evil one. You understand how strong these
temptations can be, and how each time I am tempted
I have to make a decision. I pray that You will provide
me with Your strength and Your wisdom to make the
right choices. Forgive me of any independent attitudes
I may have, and guide me in becoming more dependent
on You. Thank You for loving me so much that You help
me with my battles with temptations. You are my God and
my Rescuer whom I love very much and want to please!”

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