Friday Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:11-13
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation has taken you but what is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation also will make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it.
Devotion:
No matter how much we face here on earth, we always do still have a choice. We may feel like we are trapped in a life that is bad, evil and corrupt, but God has already set in place an escape route for each of us. He has already given us a way that we can avoid the evil that surrounds us; and that means that we don’t have to go there in the first place! But how many times do we remember that before we go there? How many times do we remember that we have a choice before we make the wrong choice?
Unfortunately we live in a world where we are going to be distracted by so many things that we may forget to stop, look and listen. Just like a child forgets to stop, look and listen before crossing the road, so we forget to do the same before jumping head-long into the world around us. Just as a child would find out the hard way that a car hitting you would be too late, we often find out that we are already too late when we think about it. But God, in His infinite grace and mercy, continues to give us escape routes. He has given us the chance to bring our sins to Him and ask for forgiveness – even after we have done them. It does not mean that we can go ahead and do anything we want and then go and say sorry – because I hardly believe we should be able to fool God if we are not sincere in our apology!
Because God has given us these escape routes it means that He wants us to use them. He does not want us to remain ignorant nor to not use them because we feel bad about using them. God gave them to us for a reason. We need to use them! God is not the one who is going to trip you up by placing temptations in front of you. God is not the one who is going to dangle the carrot before you face. God is the one who is showing you that there is an alternative and that there is a way that we don’t have to follow. He knows how weak we are and He knows how easy we are. But His infinite grace and mercy is more than enough to put aside those faults right now.
Points to Ponder:
Do you ever blame others for what you do wrong?
Are you asking God for His favour?