1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
I remember, as a young Christian, hearing preachers preach on 1st Corinthians 10:13. I recall thinking, Wow! Finally! I was hoping that I could get some kind of help from God the next time I am tempted to sin. I felt like I would never again have any trouble living a Holy, Godly life. Because, whenever I was tempted, all I had to do was trust the Lord to show me where to turn or what ever He needed to do to help me resist temptation.
But, guess what happened: The next time I was tempted to sin there wasn't any sign from God pointing me to a way to escape. There weren't any changes in the way I felt toward the temptation. Nothing changed! And the next time I was tempted I found no WAY TO ESCAPE! And, the next time after that, and after that and after that - never any answer from the Lord on how to apply this verse in my time of temptation.
I gradually began to doubt my relationship with the Lord: If this verse was working for all these preachers and all those other Christians, how come it didn't seem to work for me? Was I not really saved? I couldn't understand it: Was there something I was missing? Did I just need to spend more time in prayer? What was wrong with ME?
Those feelings kept bothering me for several years. I found myself dealing with guilt and frustration because I really wanted to do what was right. My desire was to have victory in my Christian life but I found myself dealing with failure and defeat more often.
Then, a few years ago, while meeting with some other men in a church group, I discovered that I wasn't really alone. I had long ago settled the issue of my salvation so I knew that wasn't the reason this scripture didn't seem to work for me. And I could see that many others beside myself were searching for that seemingly illusive WAY TO ESCAPE!
Even when trying to counsel other men who seemed to have trouble with temptation, I seldom quoted this verse to them because I had not been able to apply it in my own life in a way that gave me victory over temptation.
Let's take just a minute to examine the word WAY. One definition is: It is a road or path affording passage from one place to another. We drive cars on a free-way. We drive slower on a road-way. We walk on a walk-way. We hike on a path-way. In fact, the term, HIGHWAY, occurs many times in the old testament. The original highways may have been the path people traveled to reach the high places of worship which God told the Israelites to destroy.
The bottom line here is this: A way to escape, by definition, requires some action on our part - not God's.
It is amazing how the Lord works in our lives. He is always there for us but he doesn't always step in when we would like Him to. It seems to me like He wants us to learn some things The Hard Way in order for us to remember and appreciate them. Then, through this experience of learning, we have a better grasp of the truth. And from that we have a much stronger faith and the wisdom to help others in their walk through the encounter they have with temptation.
Here is what the Lord showed me that made all the difference when I was tempted. And it is NOT rocket science. It's just that all those preachers never pointed out the verse that follows 1st Corinthians 10:13! (That would be . . . verse 14)
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
Out of those seven words, notice the word FLEE. FLEE IS THE KEY!
It was us human beings that placed those numbers we find at the start of each verse. They were added for our convenience after the Holy Spirit guided Paul as he penned them down on paper. Therefore, verse 13 and verse 14 are often treated as if they were not related. But, they are definitely related. And during all those years that I was looking for the Lord to show me the way to escape, all I needed to do was to look behind me.
If a temptation was in front of me, the way to escape was obviously in the opposite direction - behind me. God provided it but I was too busy looking for His helping hand in some mysterious way to reach down from Heaven and protect me from that temptation. What I needed to do was spend more time studying His Word instead of wishing and wondering why I wasn't a better Christian.
So, I discovered it's not rocket science. It's simple: When temptations are in front of us, the way to escape is always right behind us. All we need to do is FLEE in the opposite direction. Remember, idolatry is simply something that you love enough that you allow it to push your relationship with Jesus aside. You might have all kinds of excuses to do so and they may be justifiable. But they still spoil that relationship and bring about guilt. You may only entertain the temptation for a short time. But it still spoils your relationship with Him. And if you continue to entertain that temptation, you will find yourself in a place you don't want to be.
James 1:14-15
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Whenever we yield to temptation we separate ourselves from God. We lose our joy. We don't see answers to our prayers. Life is not what we would like it to be. And in our hearts we know it is the result of yielding to temptation.
But, let me tell you what else I have found since putting verse 13 and 14 into the same context: God is SO good!
Once I discovered the scriptural way to escape temptation and began taking that path, my beloved Savior began reaching down from Heaven with His tender, helping hand just like I had originally expected Him to do. He began to bless me by putting things into my life that were so fantastic that I had very little desire to return to the things that had originally been tempting me.
Even that isn't rocket science: (James 4:8 - Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you .) When the Lord sees our lights go on; when we finally get it, He gets so excited about it that things begin to happen in our lives that we can hardly imagine. God is so good that when we finally begin to turn and take the way which leads away from temptation He, in turn, creates beautiful avenues of escape that fill our hearts with joy as we find ourselves strolling along them, walking with Him.
Do the temptations go away? I wish I could say Yes! But, that wouldn't be the truth. Temptations will always pop up in my life and yours. We will always find ourselves having to make that choice: It looks so good - but I know it's bad. And sometimes we find our flesh trying to convince us that it really isn't that bad. But, if it affects our relationship with Jesus - it IS BAD. It's idolatry! And that is sin. And sin destroys.
This isn't rocket science - it's the Word of God. And it's not complicated. There is ALWAYS a way to escape temptation: The first step begins with an About Face.
Turn around and FLEE!
Turn around and FLEE!
Nope! That ain't rocket science! But - it really works!
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Corinthians 10:13-14
