Bugged

Talk about an end-of-season party! This was the gathering atop my stove in September. I had supplied the “refreshments” (a disk with ant-yummy poison), so had essentially invited this large number of “guests.” A few weeks later, the early winter frosts came, reducing the number of critters who paid social calls in my kitchen. One day, I told my husband, “I didn’t see a single ant today. Did you?” I’m glad for the winter reprieve, but I know when the weather warms, our uninvited guests (most likely their offspring) will return.

Isn’t that like life? We wonder if things can get any worse, and mercifully, a reprieve comes. Or, we’ll find the strength and grace to get through a difficult situation. That’s the point of one verse in Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. In my Bible it’s underlined and highlighted in yellow such that it almost glows in the dark. Are you getting the idea that I’ve needed its message more than once? Here it is:

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 NIV)

For a long time I thought “temptation” implied being lured into the seven cardinal sins, like greed and lust. Then I looked up the Greek word that most Bibles translate “temptation.” It’s peirasmos and its primary meaning is “trials with a beneficial purpose and effect,” divinely permitted or sent. Or as Bible teacher Kay Arthur often says, nothing can come into our lives that is not filtered through the fingers of God’s love. It’s bigger than being faced with obvious sin choices. It’s choosing God’s way when our lives are touched by temptations, difficult circumstances or relationships.

I needed that reminder the other day when faced with a peirasmos in relationships calling for an extra dose of patience and grace. It crawled all over my emotions, like partying ants on a disk of poison. Then God, though my scripture reading and the counsel of friends, helped me through it. Will that difficulty revisit? In this case, probably--but only because God permits it. He knows that each time I get through a periasmos, my character is honed, preparing me for my eventual Home with Him.

“Go to the ant,” says Proverbs 6:6, as part of its warnings against idleness. But in this case, I “go to the ant” for a reminder that no matter the irritation or struggle, God is greater. Pardon the pun, but I don’t need to get “antsy,” knowing He’s in control.