1 Corinthians 10:13 "13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
When you read 1 Corinthians 10, it outlines the examples of sin Israel chose, idols over the One True God. The passage warns us of becoming idolaters as many of them were, or sexually immoral, or even complainers the way Israel did in opposition to God. These things were written as examples for us. Yet, there is also a warning not to think Israel was less spiritual than you or me. "12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls." Let us not point fingers and say, "oh, poor Israel, they just couldn't get it together."
What they forgot as we look back at their story is God is Faithful, which is easy to forget as we look ahead in our malaise. It can be easy to forget how simply we, too, can step into these sins. Because God is faithful, he knows what trials will be harder for us and what we can bear. He wants us to come out as gold and carefully weaves the circumstances we will have to face. They are chosen for our success, not failure. God knows the way he is taking us and the trials we will face. Job says this too, 23:10 "But he knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold."
We see the beautiful example of this as God chooses which trial Israel will face in Exodus 13:17-18 "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. God said, 'Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.' But God led the people around the way of the wilderness toward the Read Sea," When I read that for the first time, it changed how I go through trials. I know now God is mindful of where my faith is and has chosen the parameters and limits for me to face in any given trial. Let the admonishment and encouragement of Exodus 14 remind you how faithful God is, even in spite of us, as with Israel. They did not need to panic, and neither do we. God took them through the place he should have seen their faith flourish. That is where you are as well.
It appears that a trial was unavoidable for Israel when they departed Egypt. What we see is that God knew what they could bear. Today, when I face a problem, this is how I think," God may have seen two options, and he knew the one I may never know about would crush my spirit so much and make me want to turn from my faith and no longer want him. Carefully chosen was the one that would humble me, test my faith and help me come out as pure gold. He is faithful. Perhaps more like Job, he just put the limits on what I could face while leaving the options open to the enemy. This is the great Faithfulness of God. Maybe you are saying, "but why do we need to deal with any option?" Remember facing a trial wasn't the option, but which trial they would face.
This is the caveat; it does not mean he determines how we will handle it. We see Israel still complained and feared. They saw all the power of God on display in Egypt but still did not trust in His Great Faithfulness. We read that Israel wanted to return to Egypt later in other circumstances. That is so easy to repeat in our lives during our times of trials. Remember, the words of Peter come to mind as he declares the LORD's faithfulness. In John 16, Jesus told his disciples' many hard sayings. There was a point where disciples complained and began to "walk with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to go away?' But Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" We see many of Jesus' disciples wanted their Egypt again. Many believers you may know were on fire at one time in their walk, and something they wanted more than God or something they wanted instead of God was chosen, and they strayed from their faith. They no longer walk with the Lord. Remember, their trials were not for their fall but to prove their character. They chose to walk away, but God did not make it impossible for them to prosper in their faith when he set or let their Red Sea come before them. Just because God is faithful doesn't mean what we face will be easy. Read Job. His trials were enough to make any person reject the Lord. Job did not; he remembered God is faithful, and after his trials, he experienced that faithfulness in a magnanimous way. He may have missed that if he chose to curse God and die. Those were Job's options. Remember his experience was not chosen so he'd fail. It was a specific design by God's faithfulness to show we can be faithful right back. That is all of us who love him and understand he is not planning our destruction, though our trials may feel like it. Israel looked back and saw the armies of Egypt; they just knew death was moments away. However, God is faithful.
Trials will come, but they are not random; they are perfectly set before us. Here we see Israel was given the Red Sea over war with the Philistines. Job was offered a limit where his life could not be taken. David was offered an opportunity to prove he was worthy of the position of King, with Saul chasing him down for years. He proved he was a man after God's heart. God already knew that but needed David to understand that too.
When you read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, you can see what the patriots had to go through and now understand their circumstances were specifically set for them. God's faithfulness must test our faith; we must be proven genuine. However, he knows what we are capable of going through and what will break us. If a difficulty is before you, now be confident that God allowed that over something else, and he knows you are his righteous committed child, and this temptation will not be beyond what you can bear. As simply as he opened the Red Sea for the multitude to walk through, he knows how to make your "way of escape." God is faithful.
While he is faithful towards us, let's remain under our trial, faithfully for him. We can know he allowed whatever we are facing for our growth. Also, we can see where we are in our commitment to him. He knew a different test would have caused us to want to go back to Egypt. If you are facing something difficult right now, He knows. It was carefully selected over something else by a loving God for you, or he limited the enemy in his options.
Knowing this possibility should help you see He is faithful. God is not passive in your and my spiritual growth. As with Israel, trials were inevitable. Knowing God has say so on the way we go should cause our hearts to rejoice. Our trials are not random; they are set before us by a God who is faithful. In that, we should rejoice. That knowledge doesn't make them easier, and it helps us know He cares. At the end of chapter 14, we read, "Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD..." We can have that testimony during. It doesn't need to be after we see what God can do. Now that we know He orchestrates and limits our trials, no matter how tumultuous they are to us, we don't need to be discouraged; Our God is Faithful.
Comentarios