Battling Temptation
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) This is one of my favorite verses in all of scripture. With so much to unpack in such a short verse, I want to focus on three key principles.
Common to man
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.” A friend of mine pointed out how grateful he is to have friends and family members he can to turn to when dealing with certain temptations. Having commonality with others who have dealt with similar temptations has brought him comfort, strengthened his desire and ability to repent, and provided light at the end of what was once a tunnel of complete darkness.
I’m a huge believer in that there is something to be learned from every single person on the earth. The more I’ve gotten to know people around me, from strangers on a flight to neighbors across the street, I have learned so much from their life experiences. I know the more I strengthen and expand these relationships, the more commonality I will find and be better equipped to overcome various temptations.
God is faithful
“But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” There have been numerous times in my life where I’ve felt the temptations I face are insurmountable. Time and time again, as I have turned to Christ and sought out the help of others, God has delivered on this promise of not tempting above what I’m able to handle. The light of Christ is the great enabler in overcoming all temptation.
What I love most about this part of the verse is the phrase God is faithful. In other words, God believes in us, more than we could ever comprehend. He wouldn’t have sent us to earth to be tempted if he didn’t. So much of my poetry is rooted in this concept as I think it’s one of the most important principles of the gospel, and life as a whole for that matter.
A way to escape
“But will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Have you ever been to an escape room? If not, let me paint the picture for you. You enter a room, are locked in with a group of people and have a certain amount of time to figure out how to escape. Within the room are clues, one leading to the next, that ultimately lead to your freedom. In context of this verse, the word escape implies that the temptations we face will never be as easy as just walking out of the room.
God has and always will provide all the necessary clues or tools for our escape from temptation, but we must reject the thought it will come through idleness. We must search the gospel clues (doctrine and principles) and work as a team (family, friends, bishop and stake leaders, ward family) in order to successfully navigate our way out of the room (our temptations).
Part of our earthly experience is learning how to escape and I am so grateful for a loving God who has given us so many resources to do so. He believes in us, and I hope that this post can help in battling temptation.
- HM