How many of you have heard these words?
“No temptation has taken you that is not common to man and the Lord will give you the ability to escape it” I Corinthians 10:13
That verse comes from I Corinthians chapter 10. Paul was giving instruction to the Christians about the example they had received from their forefathers who had murmured and complained in the wilderness.
They had seen all of God’s power when He delivered them from Egypt; crossing the Red Sea; living under the pillar of cloud by day; eating manna from heaven; drinking water from a rock and still they complained and rebelled.
So now Paul is giving strong admonition to them. Don’t let the temptation to complain and murmur about your circumstances cause you to stray from the Lord.
God is faithful and He will provide a way of escape. Don’t be confident in your own abilities because when you are, you will fall but be confident in Christ and what He has done for you.
“So anyone who thinks they are standing strong should be careful that they don’t fall. 13 The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.” I Corinthians 10:12-13 ERV
Good word for today. How many times a day do we find ourselves complaining about something? How many times are we trusting in our own strength and not His?
Over the last week we have talked about planting seed. The seed, Jesus said, is God’s word. That’s good seed. Our words are also seed; when we murmur and complain it is far from good and we need to pull it up before it takes root and produces a crop. Some of us should pray for crop failure.
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing. 15 Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God. You live among people who are crooked and evil, but you must not do anything they can say is wrong. Try to shine as lights among the people of this world” Philippians 2:14-15 CEV
Paul was instructing the Christians in Corinth and in Philippi on godly living. It’s good instruction for us as well. He wanted them to see that words have consequences. Words of praise and words of complaint both produce a crop.
“You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a safe place for those who go to him.” Proverbs 30:5 ERV
Let’s remind ourselves of how the Lord has been faithful in the past and it will keep us from complaining about the present or worrying over the future. It will bring about a consequence of peace.