Escape Hatch part 2
In reality, "escaping" things is less about avoiding them and more about getting through them. Enduring them. Coming out stronger on the other side. And that is what we are promised, over and over again, in the Bible. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no tempation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be temped above what ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." There's a lot here. First of all: We're all in this together. We all go through the same things. You don't ever have to think you're alone or that no one understands you. Suffering in silence while the person next to you has been there, done that, and got the t-shirt is no good. I believe we go through things for 2 reasons. 1. To learn and grow. 2. To help others when they inevitably go through the same things. It's a very personal human experience, but a very universal one at the same time. We can, and should, help each other. Especially when we intimately know what someone else is going through, because we ourselves have gone through it. The next part is where (I think) we get the idea "God never gives you more than you can handle." The thing that sometimes seems to be left off of that paraphrase is "...that ye may be able to bear it." That's the key. Love never fails... because love endures. Love doesn't give up. Love just keeps on keeping on. And that doesn't mean you should keep banging your head against the wall. That doesn't mean you should turn the other cheek and then just stand there and let someone keep slapping you. Sometimes you have to love people from a distance. It's like the old saying about having the strength to change the things you can change, and the grace to accept the things you can't... and the wisdom to know the difference. Yes, sometimes you have to just grit your teeth and bear it. Sometimes you just have to get through it. Not every part of life is designed for your comfort. But! God DOES work all things together for you good. The key is seeing the bigger picture. Not fighting to make things fit into your idea of what they should be, but letting things be what they are and finding your place in that. Every cloud has a silver lining, right? You just have to find it. And you find it... by looking for it. By knowing and believing that it's there. You find your place by getting in where you fit in. By loving everybody... and then pouring yourself into the people that receive your love. If someone isn't picking up what you're laying down... that's ok. But on the other hand, if someone DOES pick it up... if that connection is there... that's when things get really exciting. That's when things get really... real. So when temptation takes you--and you WILL be tempted by things. That's why they are called temptations--you won't be tempted above what you're able. You will have an escape hath that equips and empowers you to endure. And that escape hath... He is the door to the sheepfold. He is love. His is Jesus!