Temptation May Not Overcome Us, But Circumstances Might!

 "Therefore, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it" -1st Corinthians 10:13 

I am convinced that this verse is one of the most commonly misquoted verse in the Bible. Usually when people quote this verse they then conclude that it is saying that God will not allow any circumstance to overcome us. However, this verse is not about circumstances. When I read this verse, it is pretty clear that it is about temptation. The apostle Paul is telling us that all temptations that we face in this life are not any different from any temptation anyone else face but when we are tempted The Lord will  provide a way for us to overcome the temptation. However, when it comes to circumstances, I believe that the Lord will often bring us to point of utter despair in order to show us that we are in desperate need of His strength instead of relying on our own. In 2nd Corinthians 1:8, Paul tells us "For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself". As someone with mental illness, I can completely relate to this verse because often I feel like I am overwhelmed by my symptoms. There are times that I feel such an intense depression that I just want to commit suicide. There are times when I am in a full manic episode and I am overwhelmed with feelings of ecstasy that I then commit dangerous impulsive acts. Also, there are times, my paranoia and voices cause me to be overcome with fear that I am literally crippled. I am saying this to let you know that there is evidence that circumstances can and often do overwhelm us. However, I have found that it is during these times that the Lord most powerfully shows Himself in our lives. I am reminded of 2nd Corinthians 12 where the Apostle Paul tells us how he was given a "thorn in the flesh" in order to keep him humble. We do not know what this "thorn" is but we do know that Paul asked the Lord three times to remove it and all three times the Lord told him, "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is perfected in weakness". We may not understand why the Lord would give us something like a mental illness however we do know that His grace in our lives is sufficient for us. When I am feeling especially overwhelmed, I remind myself of this passage because I need to understand that the Lord does not owe me anything except for wrath and condemnation for my rebellion and sin. For this reason, any good thing that the Lord does give me is solely a testament to His amazing grace and mercy in my life. This is a very sobering truth because so often we believe that the Lord owes us because of our own supposed "goodness" or service to Him. However, God tells us that He is the Lord and He will do with His creation as He sees fit because that is His prerogative . This is the message of Romans 9.  On a final note, even though the Lord may bring us to a point of utter despair so we learn to rely on Him instead of ourselves, He does promise us that He will sustain us and that He will use everything we go through for our own good. When I was in the hospital last year due to a perforated colon, I was in a really dark place mentally and I even almost lost my faith as a lay in my hospital bed. I could not imagine why the Lord was doing this to me. But, then in that moment the Lord kept reminding me of Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose". What I find particularly interesting about this verse is that Paul is not saying that all things are good but that all things work towards our good. This is a profound truth. We may not fully understand how God uses our suffering for our good and sometimes it does feel like this verse is lying. However, The Lord cannot lie so His word is truth and we must trust His external and objective word over our feelings. God is faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to Him and He is working to conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. - A Place For Weakness by Dr. Michael Horton

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

For 24 hour peer support, please call the Christ-Centered Mental Health ministry line at 567-343-3727 or email me at christmentalhealth@gmail.com Lydia Sarchet: mrssccmh@gmail.com Britton Garleb: britaingabriel@protonmail.com Joe Roman: Twiztedmembrain@gmail.com Scott AKA Johnny Kangaroo: scottsoconmhs@outlook.com Dwayne McLeod: psyconatics@gmail.com Veronica Talbot: vtalbot747@gmail.com Amber Williams: shayneedm18@gmail.com Chuck Ward: wcw50@aol.com Sarah Olivia: sarahjesseolivia@gmail.com Amber Marie: amarie0193@gmail.com Zachary Uram: Netrek@gmail.com Joseph McDermott: jpmlovesjesus@live.com
Roselyn Morgan (Christ-Centered Mental Health Christian Counselor): RoselynMorgan53@yahoo.com Support The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry To Make A One Time Donation To Our Ministry