Windows In Our Life

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

 

 

 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. That is a big, favor to ask, and if you pray this prayer then you are asking God please, don’t lead me into temptation, but if I get there on my own…..deliver me from evil. Sort of like when you Mom told you not to stick that fork in the outlet, but you did it anyway…..yeah, Each day we looked to our parents to save us from ourselves, but hey, Mom, Dad, keep an eye on me, because when I end up doing what you told me not to do…..will you PLEASE come knock me off the outlet!? Just like our parents, God would never lead us into temptation, however He will watch us walk right into it. Temptation is not just what we think of right off the top of our head. The opposite sex…yes that can be temptation, how about a pile of cash, and no one is around….sure that is temptation. But what about the failure to move? That is a temptation of fear, What about difficult people in our lives, is that not a temptation to slander, and belittle? If we put some thought into it we find that we walk right into temptations that will draw us away from God every hour of every day. Often I think that it is the temptation to do nothing that sometimes is the most damaging. We keep plugging away, doing the same thing, and we wonder why nothing changes.

 

When I read 1 Corinthians 10:13 It reminds me of how foolish I can be sometimes….how we all can be sometimes. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; 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 endure it.” A friend reminded me of this verse last night, and I don’t think she realized just how much I needed to hear it, and I think at the same time, she needed to be reminded of it as well. The temptation to continue on a path that has worn out can prove to be futile. As I was walking in to the office this morning I flushed out a group of dove that were in a tree. Now this is the third morning that I have flushed that same group, and every morning, one dove hits the window on the office…not once, but it regroups and tries to fly through the window again…. then flies off dazed and flying crooked. Sometimes I think I am that dove, sometimes I think a lot of us are that dove. We get up, hit the ground running, and fly into the window…we bounce off, and fly right into it again. This verse reminds me that we need to quit looking at the window that is closed, and look for the one that God has opened. We will walk into temptation, but when we find ourselves there, we don’t have to keep walking, we don’t have to keep running into the same window over and over again. That door (or window) is now closed, but that does not mean it is time to stand still, it does not mean that it is time to give in, it most certainly does not mean it is time to give up. It means that just like that bird, we need to turn and look to see there is an entire world of alternatives behind us. You might be tempted, but the Lord will not force you to stay there, only you can do that.  Her has opened a window, a door, it might just be a crawlspace, but know this, the way out is there.

 

Why does the Lord do that? Why would he only allow us to go so far before giving us a way out? We find that the answer is once again love. Paul reminds us in Hebrews 2:18 that  “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Like a parent will go out of their way to protect their child, like a brother will defend his brother with His very last breath, Christ knows all too well what temptation feels like, and He will give you a way to deal with it. Christ was tempted by the devil, we all know the story, we all know how it went down. However do you spend much time thinking of the last time Christ was tempted? When Jesus hung on the cross, He was tempted in the most personal way. “if you are the Son of God, then come down off that cross”….wow! you think Jesus was tempted? Oh man, you know it had to of ran through His mind…”what, you don’t believe me? Let me hop down off this cross, and show you a little something something!”  OK maybe that is what I would think….I am sure Christ would have said it a little differently. But still, He must have been tempted. Yet He did not. HE endured, HE saw the way that His Father had already prepared, and he found that window that was already opened for Him. AS a result, HE saved you. He was tempted, yet resisted. That is what we are called to do. Remember just because we can does not mean that we should, and just because we think we can’t, does not mean we should not try. Temptation comes in all shapes and sizes, quit running into the window, and look around for the way out that God has provided.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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The Ridge Fellowship

 

The Workweek With Christ

 

Psalm22