A letter from Anthony...
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
For some reason or another, Australia is known around the world for being a country that has many dangerous animals. I guess Australia is home to the 11 most venomous snakes in the world, not to mention crocodiles, and many species of sharks.
However, even though Australia’s carnivorous animals often steal the limelight, Australia is also home to around 187 species of carnivorous plants. One such native meat eating plant is the “Sundew”. The Sundew is a brightly coloured plant, with a thin stem and hundreds of round leaves that are surrounded by hairs that glisten with delicate drops of liquid in the sunlight. Now that may not sound all that tempting to any of us, but to an insect the appearance of this plant is as tempting as an open bag of lollies is to a small child.
But woe to the insect that falls into this temptation! The shiny drops of liquid on the leaves are sticky and will capture any bug that dares touch it. And as the insect struggles to try and free itself, the vibration causes the leaves to close tightly around it, before this innocent-looking plant then feeds on its victim.
One of the most dangerous traps that any follower of Jesus can be lured into, is the trap of believing that we are able to stand firm in our own strength. Last week we looked at the first chapter of Daniel and we saw how Daniel stood firm in the Lord, in a time when the temptation to take the path of least resistance would have been very strong. But it wasn’t Daniel’s great intestinal fortitude, or unshakable character, that enabled him to stand firm during the difficult season that he and his people were going through; rather it was Daniel’s faith in the Lord.
Regardless of our age, or the season of life that we are in, we are all surrounded by temptations. For some it might simply be the temptation to get caught up in our work, or our hobbies. Others of us may struggle with the temptation to be discontent with what God has given us. While others may struggle with the lust of the eyes, the taming of the tongue or the desires of the flesh.
But no matter what temptations are present in our lives, the apostle Paul reminds us in the verses above that “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” Just like an insect attracted by the lure of the very innocent looking sundew, we too are attracted by our sinful desires and can be lured into sin. But if we stand firm in the Lord, rather than trying to persevere in our own strength, we will see that God will “provide us with a way out” so that we can endure the temptations that we face. In the strength of our confidence in His mercy and grace, we can choose again and again to flee from temptation and keep living as faithful followers of Jesus in a world that does not know Jesus as Lord.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrew 4:15-16
In Christ, Anthony
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