The Bible says, ‘You can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it’ (v. 13 NCV). Our minds are like a hotel. The manager can’t stop someone entering the lobby, but they can prevent that person from getting a room and staying there. And it’s the same with temptation. When God redeemed you, you became a renewed spirit living in an unrenewed body. And you were ‘sealed [by the Holy Spirit] for the day of redemption’ (Ephesians 4:30 NIV). Think of it like an envelope – when you seal it up, its contents are protected until it’s delivered to its destination. Satan can’t triumph against your renewed spirit, so he attacks you through your earthly nature. Paul acknowledged this: ‘I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway’ (Romans 7:19 NLT). None of us will ever be immune to temptation, but we can overcome it. Think about these three things in 1 Corinthians 10:13: 1) ‘You can trust God.’ Like a shepherd who never abandons his sheep, when you go astray, He’ll bring you back to Him. 2) ‘[He] will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand.’ Like a good coach training you, God will allow the weight of temptations to strengthen you, but not to the point that it breaks or destroys you. 3) ‘When you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape.’ If you choose your own way, temptation can easily defeat you. But God’s ‘way to escape’ is through prayer, His Word, Christian fellowship, and Spirit-filled living. That’s how to overcome temptation.
