W8D1: So That You Can Endure

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

"Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with His presence."  Paul Claudel

Jesus didn’t come to cure all illnesses, overthrow a brutal and evil regime, stop poverty or end physical death. This is because He knows we were created for adversity, to bring strength and victory in the face of dark moments of life. He knows that when we are not taking the opportunity to be over-comers, we are overcome with despair.

Parents struggle with the tension between protecting their children from hurt and allowing them to struggle in order to grow. When parents remove obstacles for their children, they do them a horrible disservice. Life’s roads are not smooth, they are very rocky and often very treacherous. A parent’s job is to prepare their child for the road, not smooth it out for them.

When our children are babies, we will put up barriers and protections to keep them from getting hurt. But as they grow and learn, as they develop their skills and thought processes, we give them more and more freedom to choose. If we remove struggles and trials for them, we will impede their growth and they will never know their full potential, leaving them with an empty and unsatisfied with life.

There has to be a balance in all things and parenting is no different. A good parent will not remove all the obstacles, but they will always be present when those obstacles arise. Our job isn't to smooth or remove suffering, but to be there, encouraging and guiding them as they go. We must leave the choices to our child or their growth will be suppressed, crippling the life of strength and power they were created for. With guidance and encouragement, our children will emerge from a crisis stronger and more confident because they endured and grew. If we interfere, they will become stunted, scared and broken.

In the midst of our trials, Jesus doesn’t always resolve our circumstances, but He will always fill them with His presence. We can choose to believe that and look for Him, finding our way out or we can struggle to survive and blindly grasp at things that don't last. Studies show our eyes will take us where they are looking. If our car spins out of control and we look at the tree in the ditch, our car will end up wrapped around the tree. If we keep our eyes on the road, we will stay on the road. God’s presence is the way we endure the temptations of this life. When we keep our eyes focused on Him, we end up in His loving and capable arms.

“God often allows us to be in situations that are too much for us so we will learn no situation is too much for Him.”—Erwin W. Lutzer

Do you look for God in the trials and temptations? Describe a time you have felt His presence or a time you wish you had felt His presence.

Meditate on “so that you can endure"