God Always Makes a Way Out
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
At Davidson College, some students are so serious about their education and so committed to their academic excellence that they never leave the library. The library closes most days at 1 in the morning and reopens at 8 the following morning.
Some people can’t get enough, and so to warn those who have drifted to sleep, at 12:45, an alarm that sends chills up your spine splits the air of the library. Then, just in case someone is really deeply asleep, at 12:50 the alarm rings out twice. At 12:55 it goes off three times – certain to wake the dead. Then at 1 am it goes off anywhere from five to ten times to get the message across loud and clear that the library doors are closing whether you are out or not.
My friend Mark woke up from a delicious sleep somewhere between 2 and 3 in the morning. He peeled his face off the desk of his carrel and quickly noticed that he was locked in the library in the pitch black dark.
In a controlled freak-out sort of way he frantically checked the main doors. They were dead bolted. There was no way out. He had ignored the repeated warnings and now found himself locked in the library, sitting in the dark, and desperately wondering what to do.
Either innocently or not so innocently, you may find yourself locked in certain behaviors, certain sins: lying to yourself and others, greed, resentment, people pleasing, or abusing God’s good gifts in excess. You are sitting in the darkness that sin casts over us, feeling that there is no way out. And the enemy whispers in your ear, “you fool, you fool”:
- Enemy lie #1 - Your problems are unique, bigger, and tougher than other peoples.
- Enemy Lie #2 - God has forgotten.
- Enemy lie #3 - Your problems are more than you can bear.
- Enemy lie #4 - You are trapped and there is no way out.
How do you confront the lies of the enemy?
- God’s truth #1 - You are dealing with common temptations.
- God’s truth #2 - I am faithful.
- God’s truth #3 - I will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
- God’s truth #4 - I will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it
Whether you have just stumbled into the locked library of sin or you have been making your home there for a while, know that:
- You are not alone
- God has not and will not forget you
- God provides a way out, always.
Mark ended up having to pick up the phone on the library desk, dial the number of the campus police and explain his humiliating situation to them. Once he admitted his dilemma and asked for help, they came and freed him from the prison of his own folly and ignorance.
Don’t let the lies of the enemy keep you from calling out for grace and mercy even today! Don’t let your sense of pride and trying to fake like you have it all together keep you from collapsing on God’s grace in the midst of, before, and after falling into temptation.
God always makes a way out through Jesus!