To Encourage You

1 Corinthians 10:13 “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 the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

One of the names given to Jesus in the Bible is “the Word of Life” (1 John 1:1).  Perhaps one way to think of this is that the words that proceed from our Lord’s mouth are life-giving words.  The entire written Word of God speaks of Him, and it is by placing our faith in these words that we can have life – not just life to the full in this world, but eternal life that is the gift of God to every believer.  Yes, God’s Word gives life.  Through the pages of the Scriptures God shows us the path of life – the narrow way – the way that brings glory to Him, and the ways in which we can bless the lives of others. It’s always about life. 

But there are some Scriptures that God has given us that are like a life preserver thrown to a person who is drowning in one situation or another and is so overwhelmed by his or her circumstances that they can feel themselves slipping under, if not for what God has said. That’s exactly how I think about the verse above from 1 Corinthians 10. 

I can remember the time back in my graduate school years when I was overwhelmed by the challenges of school and a number of other circumstances that were affecting my life at that time.  It all came to a head in the form of an overwhelming and debilitating bout of deep depression.  I didn’t know where to turn or what to do.  It was the first time I had felt such feelings in my life, and I was terrified because of it.  But then God brought the verse above to my mind, and it was to this verse that I clung with my fingernails.  I had wandered far from Him at that time in my life, yet in His mercy He brought this lifesaving verse to me that had been buried deep in my soul because I had memorized it many years previously for some reason (perhaps it was as part of my years in Sunday School).  You see, I had learned through the years that the Greek word that has been translated “temptation” in this verse can also be translated “test.” In my case it was one and the same thing, for I was being tested by circumstances that seemed to be more than I could bear, and I was being tempted to give up in the deepest sense, i.e., not to just give up on school, but to give up on life.  But this one verse told me that because I was a child of God, though the Lord might allow me to pass through very deep waters in my life, yet He would never allow me to be tested or tempted beyond what I would be able to bear, not because of my strength, but because He had promised to make a way of escape so that I would be able to endure it. 

It is because of this experience that I have been allowed to remind others of this truth as well.  I have had opportunities to share this truth with others who were sure they could not go one more step.  But you know what?  They could and they did – and it was all because of this life-saving promise as well as many of the other life-saving promises given to us in the Word of God. 

Perhaps you’re facing some overwhelming challenges in your life right now. Perhaps you are facing something that you don’t think you can endure. Perhaps it seems hopeless and you see no way out. Well, if you are a Christian, look to the verse above, because whatever you’re facing and no matter how things may seem, the Lord has promised that He will make a way for you to endure it.  He knows what you’re facing and He knows why, and in all of it He is sovereignly in control no matter how it may seem to you or me.  The truth of the matter is that the God of the universe has promised us that we can endure for as long as He ordains. 

Hold on to this life raft, for if you do, you will never go down.  And if you’re not a believer, if this seems to you to be nonsense or beyond your reach, know that the very Word of Life has given these words to you as well, so that you might have life if you will only turn to the One Who not only created all life, but Who is Life and believe.