Articles
God Is Faithful
God Is Faithful
“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” (1 Corinthians 10.13).
Temptation is discouraging. Even when we prevail, it is easy to be discouraged that something tempted us in the first place. The words of Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10.13 remind us that God’s faithfulness is shown even while we are being tempted. Do not be discouraged by temptation. God is faithful.
Temptation falsely leads us to believe that God is distancing Himself from us. As the attack of temptation comes and the proximity of sin is felt, we may think that God is distancing Himself from us since sin is approaching. But God is faithful. He will make a way of escape for you from every temptation. The nearness of sin can lead us to believe God must not be near us, but Paul reminds us that God is faithful through every temptation. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, and He will make a way of escape so that you will be able to bear it.
God’s presence during the spiritual warfare of temptation and sin parallels the scene of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6. The king of Aram (your translation might say king of Syria if you are reading from the NKJV or ESV) was enraged by the help the prophet Elisha was giving to the king of Israel. The king of Aram believed that one of his own must be sharing where they were going to attack with the king of Israel. One of his servants then explained, “Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom” (2 Kings 6.12). To prevent this from happening anymore, the king of Aram sent an army of horses and chariots to capture Elisha. When Elisha’s servant saw this army that had surrounded them he was understandably terrified. Elisha responds to his servant’s fear with a calm response and a powerful prayer. “So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6.16-17).
I believe that there is spiritual warfare that happens all around us today. I wish I knew what it would look like if our eyes were opened to it like Elisha’s servant. There is no way to truly know what that looks like, so let’s focus on what we are able to know with certainty. God is faithful. There may not be an army of horses and chariots of fire around us, but we do know that God is with us to provide a way of escape. Based on Elisha’s response, his servant seems to be worried about the size of king Aram’s army. When the attack comes, our tendency is to focus on how insurmountable the temptation seems. Remind yourself of more
Elisha’s response next time you feel tempted. “Do not fear, for those who are with us are than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6.16). Elisha focuses on the size of his help instead of the size of his opposition. No matter what temptation is gripping you, God is greater than that temptation. God is faithful. Focus on God’s faithfulness instead of temptation’s intrigue.
When you feel surrounded without a way of escape like Elisha’s servant must have felt, pray like Elisha did. Pray that your eyes be opened so that you will see. Pray that you will see the way of escape. Elisha already saw the horses and fiery chariots that were there for him, so he was not afraid. Seeing God’s army around him made the way of escape obvious. If we have open eyes to God’s faithfulness and His ways for us to escape, temptation will no longer seem insurmountable. Pray like Elisha that your eyes may be opened.
Remember that Elisha’s prayer is for his servant, not himself. Elisha saw that his servant was terrified by the overwhelming opposition, so he prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened. If you know someone who is struggling with temptation and sin, pray that their eyes may be opened. Sometimes when we feel completely surrounded by temptation we fail to say that prayer for ourselves. Elisha’s prayer for his servant is proof that our prayers for others in their temptations can be effective. God is faithful and He hears our prayers. He heard Elisha’s prayer and allowed Elisha and his servant a way of escape. He will do the same for us and those we pray for because God is faithful.
-Will Speer
