Lessons from Adversity (Part Seven)

He leads me …

We have been reflecting what Charles Stanley has to say about the benefits of adversity based on Paul’s experiences throughout the New Testament. Now we find out another way that we are better off.

12 LESSONS FROM ADVERSITY - Growing Closer to God Through Trials and Troubles[1]

 Through tribulation and difficulty, Paul learned:

7.     He could trust in the Lord’s faithfulness. “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). Paul had learned to depend on the Lord to carry him through any trial.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (PHILLIPS)

 13 No temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear. But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it.

The kind of escape that Paul is talking about is not removing ourselves from the temptation, but rather being able to ‘bear it’ or endure it. Look at what Paul says at the end of verse 13. He will see that there is a ‘way out’ that God Himself makes for us, and ‘that it will never be impossible for [us] to bear it’

The escape is not an escape from something. It is an escape to Someone. That is, we cast ourselves on the Lord for His help with every trial and temptation so that we may bear it faithfully through Him. Any escape that does not take us to Jesus Christ is not a real escape at all. Let us consider 1 Peter 5:10 –

 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. (NRSV)

Jesus put it a different way in John 15:1-4 -“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. (NLT).

We cannot be effective without God being with us—just as a branch cannot produce as it is supposed to without the vine. The Lord even promised that His burden is light -

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT).

So we see in summary that the Lord will allow temptations to come our way, but they will not be beyond our powers of endurance. In fact any burdens that the Lord gives us are light in comparison with what we could be facing elsewhere.

The purpose of the temptations and burdens is for us to see out own weaknesses and to then turn to God, so that He can work in the situation and then He receives the glory.

However, it does not stop there. When the Lord sees that we have been through enough, He will restore, support, strengthen, and establish us, so that we are in a better place than we were before the trouble started.

If we have any doubts, all we have to do is consider some of the Biblical characters like Job and Joseph who became the prime minister of Egypt.

Even if some of the journey is hard, God knows exactly what He is doing, and our rewards are out of this world!

[1] https://www.intouch.org/Read/Blog/12-lessons-from-adveristy