The Door You Forget Is There

Paul writes to the Corinthians that no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man, and that God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. The first thing worth sitting with is that word common. When the craving hits, it feels like a private failure, like something is wrong with you specifically, some defect that other men do not carry. Paul says no. This is the ordinary trouble of being a man, and you are not the exception you fear you are. The second thing is the promise of a way out. God does not remove the pressure, but he builds a door into every room the temptation puts you in. The trouble is that in the heat of the moment we stop looking for the door. We tell ourselves it is too late, that the outcome is already decided, and we walk the familiar path with our eyes half closed. It is almost never too late. The door might be a phone call, a walk outside, a text to a brother, the plain act of standing up. Ask God to show you the escape before you convince yourself there is none.