Way Out
READ: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13
I remember when I was a youngster, my grandma would make the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookies. I would perch myself on the stool in the kitchen and watch her cookie magic. After the cookies were finished, my grandma would give specific instructions not to eat any cookies. As soon as she left the room, the cookies would entice me to take one. My Old Adam would say, “Go ahead, it’s just one cookie. Granny will never know!” It was the biggest spiritual struggle a five year old could experience. TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT, that was the question! In the end, I didn’t take the cookie, because Sesame Street had started, and I just couldn’t miss the theme song.
What is the point?
The inviting cookies were an extreme temptation for a little kid, but God provided a way out. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “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 stand up under it.”
Stealin a cookie is “small cookies” when compared to worldly temptations like: premarital sex, drugs, gangs, money, and material goodies, but when we are faced with them, God will provide a spiritual trap door like a friend, a phone call, or even Sesame Street to help us overcome it. Through all of life, God will provide a way, and ultimately, Jesus' perfect death and glorious resurrection provides us the way out of what our sins deserves. Through faith, we are guaranteed eternal life with Him.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: What is one of the hardest temptations for you to overcome? How has God provided a way out for you? What are some ways you avoid temptations?
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: Thank God for always providing a way out. Ask God for strength when dealing with temptations. Praise God for not aloowing you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.