When pain pulls down the window shade
Through which our hope might see
What if joy might be the bridge on which
We must cross to be free?
Till God in grace bends down to lift
Our earthbound looking eyes
And, we can see the mountain peaks
Over which His wings can fly
So, no hiding in the corner or
Sailing far across the seas
Don’t miss the path of joy by which
Our faith in laughter leads!
1 Corinthians 10:13b
God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability
but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape
that you may be able to endure it.
Whatif Joy? by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2021 all rights reserved
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13b ESV
Temptation is a bit like the telephone solicitor who begins the call by exclaiming, “Don’t hang up! I’m not trying to sell you anything!” It doesn’t seem to faze them how many times we say, “no thank you,” or “I’m really not interested.” They are determined to sell us something that we don’t want, don’t need and can’t afford. Jesus warned us that in this world we would face all kinds of temptation solicitors.” So, the question is not whether temptation has our number, but rather, what we should do when it calls.
Today’s verse says, that when we are tempted, God will give us a way of escape. Escaping, conjures up in my mind a picture of flinging open the door and running away as fast as I can. But what God really wants from us is not a fearful footrace, but a cheerful acceptance. God has something far grander in mind than learning to grin and bear it. Jesus tells us to have joy because He has already overcome the problems we are in even before we face them.
“But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 b
So, I asked myself this morning. “What if – instead of complaining- what if joy was God’s plan of escape? What if, “For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross?” What if I celebrated, when I was mistreated? What if I praised instead of complained? What might happen if I chose joy and found, God’s amazing and mysterious way of escape? What if joy is the stream in the desert and a waterfall of life that flows by the path of faith God chose for me today?
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1 ESV
One of my favorite reasons for going to the beach is to watch the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Any sunset is beautiful but the most spectacular require some clouds on the horizon, for the sun to light up with amazing shades of red, orange and yellow below the canopy of a fading blue sky. When my sister-in-law passed away recently, I was reminded of sunsets in our own lives. Our years of day trips into Chinatown, Christmases at the big house when all six brothers and sisters gathered and walks in Golden Gate Park reflected off the clouds of sorrow that came with the phone call telling us of Diane’s passing.
Though grief has settled on our horizon, God is painting the colors of sunset on our hearts with hope. Diane’s hope was not in the doing or possessing of anything here on this shore, but across the other side of the sea with Jesus Christ. The beauty of the hope we hold onto when the blue sky of our passing years fades is His signature which says, “This life is mine, and a new and happier one lies across the sea.” There we will meet Diane again, where we will be able to run up heaven’s hills and together breathe deeply of its pure air. Our life here is just an unfinished canvas. If we put the paintbrush of our will into the Master’s hands, He will fill our days with His design and sign at the bottom when He is done. Just as every sunset tells us that God has finished another day, so a life that is His will receive His signature, declaring, “This is mine – and all that has passed is only the beginning of all the wonders that lie in store!”
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