You Can Do It!

(1st Cor 10:13 GNB) Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.


I'm not sure how much longer this series will last, because I simply keep going until the Father releases me, but it has been a true blessing to me and I trust it has to you as well.

Paul was an awesome man and he was used of God mightily. He is a great example of how God can use someone who has misdirected energy and passion and redirect it for His glory. Paul was the #1 persecutor of the church before his conversion and he then became the #1 promulgator of the gospel. Paul traveled extensively for Christ's sake and He wrote letters to churches that we are still reading today. One of those letters, his first to the church at Corinth, was focused around bringing order to a disorderly body. The Corinthians were passionate people and sometimes their passion got the best of them. Some believers at Corinth were slipping back into idol worship, fornication, and other sorts of sin. Paul told them to flee these things (see 6:18, 10:14), to desire spiritual gifts (12:31), and to walk in love (chapter 13).

Were the believers at Corinth perfect? No! They had made their fare share of mistakes and they were reaping the negative harvest associated with those mistakes. So what was Paul's answer to this? We find it in our text. The Message Bible paraphrase of this verse reads: "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it."

So what does this mean to you? It means the Father knows how passionate you can be about things and He also knows that you have made mistakes. Those mistakes have led to frustrating and stress-invoking situations. But as you prepare to move forward from the mistakes of your past, learning from them for your future, remember:

1. Every human is tempted/tested: Don't feel you've been singled out. Everyone deals with internal temptations and external opposition (tests).

2. The Father will not allow you to be overwhelmed: I will elaborate on this more tomorrow. The key here is knowing that IF YOU ARE FACING IT, then GOD TRUSTS YOU WITH IT!

3. Resistance is possible: The Father can aid you in both resisting the temptation and overcoming the test!

4. There is always a way out: If you look for it, you will find it and when you do you must have the fortitude to take the way out and not the way in; that will lead to more bad harvests.

Father, I can identify with the believers in Corinth. I know what it is like to make mistakes and to have to deal with the consequences of them. But I declare, by faith, that I will learn from my past as I prepare for my future. I realize that every human is tempted from their internal lusts and tested from our external enemy. Temptations and testings are nothing strange and by faith I shall overcome both. You will never allow me to face something I cannot handle, so if I am facing it, it is evidence that You trust me to overcome it. I declare that I will. I submit myself unto, I resist satan, and Your Word says that he shall flee from me. As I pray about how to deal with things Your Spirit will show me the way out and I declare, by faith, that I will take it! I will make better decisions in 2011. I will stop making decisions that lead to stressful situations. I will make Godly decisions and enjoy the Godly results of them! In Jesus' name. Amen!