My son faced a great tragedy that left him with the temptation to give up on life. Just as he thought everything was finally coming together, the love he thought he’d never find was gone. Unexpectedly one day she announced that she did not feel well. Over the course of the next few days, she had gone from his arms into the arms of Jesus. He felt his heart had been ripped out, stomped on, cut apart, and left bleeding on the ground. He told me that he thought he had won the lottery and then someone stole his ticket.

He was buried under the why’s and what-ifs. Satan thrived on the opportunity to tell him it was all his fault; he could have prevented it if only he had done things differently. The devil loves to torment us with our thoughts and emotions.

A few days after she was called home, in desperation to believe he would survive, he asked me for proof that the Lord would not put anything on him that he couldn’t handle. That statement has often been used to encourage others as they face incredibly hard times in their lives. It is written in the book of Corinthians; “God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.” (10:13)

However, by failing to include the entire verse, we don’t deliver the message properly. I’ve been guilty of this myself in the past. We leave God’s help out of the equation, allowing others to believe they can handle things by their own strength. The next sentence says: “On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you will be able to endure.” There is always a way out but He provides it so we must go to Him to find the escape. The beginning of the verse, though often hard to believe in the midst of trouble is: “No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience.”

In tragic times like this, we must remember we are not the only ones to go through this and Father has provided an escape. We must turn our hearts over to Him for healing and send Satan packing with his why’s and what-ifs.