What does that mean, "Enduring temptation"?

When we're faced with the opportunity to do something or say something we know we shouldn't, like lie, or maybe something really big like get really angry at someone who deserves it, let our anger get the best of us, or go back to the sins of our old life, the verse that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 10:13--"No temptation has overtaken you except what is comon 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." Pretty straight forward. Having a hard time resisting? He'll help you to get through it.

But there is something more insidious than the obvious "sins" that he will help us endure. There's also our favorite sins, sins that have become such a part of our daily living that we no longer recognize them as temptations. "How am I going to pay all the bills this month?" We can spend hours in worry, anxiety, coming up with possible plans, not even recognizing that we have taken control of our life away from God and are doing things ourselves. Proverbs 3:5-"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." There's also Luke 12:22-"Then Jesus said to his disciples: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.'" In fact there are endless verses telling us that God's got this.

How about self-righteous indignation? Someone makes a snide, hurtful comment to us. Or cuts us off in traffic. Our days are filled with instances of where we are wronged and we get irritated or upset.

There's Matthew 5:22 to set us straight on that front: "But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell." Haven't we all been there?

Point is, it's easy to recognize the "big" sins. Not so easy to recognize the things we think, say, and do on a dialy--actually, hourly--basis that are also sins. And those are the ones where we need God most to help us endure and find a way through them. We don't even realize we need him there also. I think those are the really dangerous ones. Not too many of us are tempted to murder. Or steal. But worry? Get upset? Defend ourselves when we've been wronged? Always.