“He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13b CSBThere is a popular phrase people often attach to this verse: “God will never give you more than you can handle.” It sounds comforting. It fits nicely on a coffee mug. It may even help someone feel encouraged during a difficult season.There is one problem. That is not what Paul is talking about. 1 Corinthians ...  Read More

“But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13b CSBThere are moments when temptation feels louder than everything else. You know what God has said. You know where the road leads. You know the regret that normally follows. Yet in that moment, the pull feels close, immediate, and powerful. God can feel distant. The consequences can feel dis...  Read More

“No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13a CSBTemptation usually does its best work in the dark. It wants to stay unnamed. It wants to remain vague. It wants you saying things like, “I’m struggling,” without ever admitting what the struggle actually is. Because as long as the temptation stays blurry, you never have to face how familiar it has become...  Read More

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” - 2 Timothy 1:7, CSBFear has a voice. That may sound strange, but you know it is true. Fear talks. It talks when you are trying to fall asleep. It talks before the hard conversation. It talks when you are about to send the message. It talks when you feel God calling you into obedience and everything in you wan...  Read More

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” - 2 Timothy 1:7, CSBAt some point, we have to admit that fear is exposing something deeper. Fear is not only about what scares us. It reveals what rules us.That matters.Because if we only treat fear like an emotion, then all we will ever try to do is manage it. Calm it down. Breathe through it. Distract oursel...  Read More

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” - 2 Timothy 1:7, CSBFear is not only about what you avoid. It is also about who you avoid. That is where this verse gets uncomfortable. Paul says God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. And that word love matters because fear does something to the way we see people. F...  Read More