This Verse Changes Everything
Aug 29, 2022About 8 weeks before the affair started, a pastor-friend of mine questioned my relationship with that particular staff member. He wasn’t accusing me of anything; he was questioning my heart and giving me an opportunity to be honest and come clean. Telling the truth in that moment would have cost me…but not nearly as much as withholding the truth cost me and those I cared about most.
I blew him off. I was not only in denial about the danger that this relationship possessed, I didn’t want to admit any weakness at all.
That conversation was my way out. That conversation and a few others like it, was God providing the fulfillment of this verse:
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
God will show you a way out.
What I have experienced is that this promise is always true. He always provides a way out. But most of the time, I’m not willing to take it. There is something in me that doesn’t trust God’s way out…so I try to create my own way out.
- My way out involves hiding
- My way out is deceit
- My way out is medicating my problem
- My way out is pretending
- My way out is avoidance
- My way out is compromise
- My way out is justifying
- My way out is rationalizing
When we choose our way out instead of God’s…we end up in more bondage; more brokenness; with more regret than when we started.
God’s way out is intimidating. God’s way out will usually cost you something. God’s way out will require courage. God’s way out will often humble you. God’s way out will not allow you to avoid the consequences of your choices. God’s way out will shine light into dark places. God’s way out will start out hurting but brings about healing. God’s way out will always look more intimidating than your way.
Maybe this blog post is your way out. Maybe a conversation you had over the weekend was your way out. Maybe your wife offered you a way out last week. Maybe the lunch meeting you will have on Thursday will be God giving you a way out.
Here is the truth: God promises you a way out. That is a promise from the heart of God. He will give you a way out. Your way out may look easier. Your way out may look better. Your way out is fools gold. It promises you more than it can ever deliver. God longs for you to escape the temptation you are facing. Will you have the courage to take it when He provides it?
Will you be willing to listen for it? When you hear it, will you be willing to take it?
