No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to us all. 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.
(I Corinthians 10:13)
Evangelist Billy Sunday once said, "Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in." Mr. Sunday rightly reminds us that temptation is a common characteristic of our human experience. He also reminds us that giving in to that temptation is a choice we take part in.
The apostle Paul does not try to overlook temptation in our text today. Indeed, he concludes, along with Billy Sunday, that temptation is "common to all." The uncommon thing about temptation for the person of faith, however, is that the power to resist comes from the Creator. The key here is Paul's assertion that God is faithful. To be in right relationship with God, one recognizes his or her dependence on God in every circumstance. My strength alone is not enough to resist the temptations that come before me every day. Because God is faithful, because through Christ God has experienced, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, every temptation we have experienced, and overcome. Therefore, we can find a strength beyond ourselves that empowers resistance, keeping, as the old adage says, "the devil at the door."
These days of Lent call us to acknowledge our sin and recognize that to walk in the way of the cross is to trust the living God to guide and empower our journey. In temptation, God provides a way of escape. Perhaps the devil is looking in through the keyhole. Don't invite him in!
Prayer: Faithful God, when temptation is at the door, provide a way of us to resist and endure in Jesus name. Amen.
Jim Abernathy
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