Writing about mistakes some of God’s people made in the past, the apostle Paul penned these words: ‘These are all warning markers – DANGER! – in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel – they at the beginning, we at the end – and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naïve and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it’ (vv. 11-13 MSG). Here Paul addresses two kinds of people who are particularly at risk: 1) Those who think they’re incapable of falling. ‘You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.’ 2) Those who believe they’ll never be able to get back up again. ‘God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.’ We can confidently stick by God’s side, because He understands our struggles and promises to help us through them.
What Now?
Think about those two kinds of people – do you fall into one of those groups? If you’re in the first group, ask God to help you put your confidence in Him and not yourself. If you’re in the second group, ask God to help you see that with His help you can turn things around.