If there is one show that I love and could sit down and watch for hours on end, it’s Myth Busters. Now, I don’t have a particularly great knowledge of science or anything like that, but there’s something about the rush that I get from seeing a myth ‘busted’ or ‘confirmed.’
Yeah, I’m weird.
But I say this because there are so many myths that exist in the church. After attending a week of worship last week that was centered around this topic, I feel convicted to share a bit of what I learnt. So here is one particularly important myth that I think is worth busting!
I want to talk about the myth of comfort. I want to talk about the myth that there's nothing that God will put you through that you can't get through yourself.
I've recently been thinking a lot about temptation to sin and what we can do to combat it. And, to be completely honest, I feel so much like Paul when he writes in Romans 7:15 "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” This guy, Paul, if you haven't heard of him, was basically the most successful apostle in the early church. And even he struggled with sin and how to avoid temptation. But, being human, the short-term pleasure of sin was enough to make him fall for it.
One of my favourite, yet seemingly always misquoted verses in the Bible says this:
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Many people replace the word “endure” with “escape”, and that's toxic for your faith. You see, the myth of comfort is that God doesn't want us to go through anything that we can't handle. That is a huge lie. If we were to never go through something that we couldn't handle, then we wouldn't need God. So what then, if there is no way for us to get through some trials and temptations, then what hope do we have to be like Jesus?
In all honesty, none. (On our own that is)
You see, Jesus says this in the gospel of Mark; "I and the Way the truth and the life". The implications of this are such that 'the way' to endure our trials is through Jesus. However, you may ask, why do I ask Jesus for help sometimes and still give in to the temptation and sin? That is because you don't know this one fact: No one calling on the name of Jesus in faith can lose out to temptation because Jesus already has the victory over sin and death. Since the cross, Jesus has had Satan by the throat because He conquered sin then and there. As a result, we now fight from a position of victory.
Now I understand that we stuff up. We are lazy, we forget, we still sin all the time and give in to temptation. However, I want to encourage you to study God's word regularly, and the passages that I have mentioned, so that you remember the victory that you have because of Jesus. And keep your heart open each time you read God's promises because there is no limit to the knowledge that God can reveal to you through His word. So, you see, we are not called to be comfortable in our faith because God wants us to grow that we might experience an abundant life (John 10:10). Even though we might equate this life of ‘abundance’ to happiness, God equates it to growth and closeness with him. We can see throughout creation a pattern of how to grow and, unfortunately, it does involve a little pain. Look at how we must prune roses for them to grow back more beautiful, or how we lose our baby teeth so that they can grow back bigger and stronger.
We are not called to be comfortable, rather, we are called to embrace trials with the mind-set that we already have the victory and that God can use this situation to help us grow. I don’t know where you’re at right now, but I know this: It doesn’t matter how far you wander, God is always by your side. So, remember to call on Him when you are struggling or going through a trial. He never fails.
Be blessed! (Myth Busted)