A Way Out

The Maze, originally uploaded by Skinnyde.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

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 stand up under it 
1 Corinthians 10:13

Life can often be very confusing and difficult. We are faced with choices and sometimes we make the wrong decisions and find ourselves in a dead end street or in a place of temptation that we were never meant to be. We misinterpret God's voice, or choose to ignore it, and eventually we realise that we're going nowhere fast. Such is our sinful nature. The maze of twists and turns can stretch far back into our past and it can be disheartening to realise that we are not going to be able to unravel this on our own. The 'if onlys' we rehearse in out minds can be very discouraging if we dwell on them.

But look at today's scripture. God provides us with a way out. If confess to him our lostness and our sin, he will graciously take us by the hand and lead us out to safety. Our past decisions and turns cannot be undone, but God in his mercy and grace can take us from where we are and show us a different path that we didn't even know was there, and he is amazingly able to make all things good in our untidy lives (Romans 8:28). That's ALL things.

I wonder if you are in a place of discouragement today because of some wrong decision you've made? In spite of what you feel, God does not reject you, he is out looking for you! If you come to him in repentance he will forgive you and show you a way through that complicated maze you've made. All you need to do is take your eyes off the surrounding problems, believe with all your heart that he loves and forgives you, look up and listen carefully to his voice. It may not come immediately, but eventually you will find your way out into an open and spacious place.