“Put it in your pocket and when you feel tempted, touch it and rub it.” That was the common advice our addiction recovery small group leader would give people when he gave out the sobriety tokens.
Recovery is a life-long battle. And as a pastor I can verify that some folks who get off drugs, stop drinking alcohol, or shed a gambling addiction are never “free” of the temptations of their addictions. Many times I’ve seen folks clean and sober for years, sometimes decades, only to relapse into addiction. Usually it happens, from my observations, when someone is going through an extreme trial in life or that person is placed in an extremely tempting situation. (Sometimes it involves both.)
But Paul’s words to the Corinthian church gives us hope when we battle temptations. This verse is a tool we can have in our toolbelt. It equips us for the battle against our struggles and trials that appear often in the form of temptations. Paul tells the Corinthians:
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and 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 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB) [1]
What a great source of hope this verse provides us! God will not let us be challenged beyond what we can handle. He will not let us get in over our head. Charles Ryrie says when this verse describes a “way of escape” it means “power to be able to bear testing” (Ryrie Study Bible, p. 1423).
How do we do this? It will look different for everyone. We need to have a friend we can rely on that we can call at any time to say, “Hey, I’m struggling right now. Can we talk?” We need a small group that we can send a text message to and ask them to pray. We need a Scripture to memorize that we can quote in our mind when we feel tempted. We need a pastor we know we can call and organize a coffee or lunch with to discuss our struggles.
While facing temptation will look different for each person, the outcome is always the same when we rely on God. We will be able to endure them!
[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.