Lord, Please Have Faith In Me (David Kilpatrick)

Here is another wonderful devotional thought from my good friend, David Kilpatrick.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
I Corinthians 10: 13

I heard a very interesting take on this passage one time, which has stuck with me through the years. I can even remember exactly where we were in the school hallway when Bill Rae, a fellow teacher, interpreted that verse from his own life in a way that really strikes close to home today.

Bill and his wife had a son of their own, and they were foster parents. They had adopted a girl, one of their foster children, earlier that year, and I was asking how things were going. It turns out things were not going well at all, and he and his wife were considering an annulment of the adoption, which was allowed for the first year after the adoption went through. They had, however, pretty much decided to try to hang in there with the girl, and I asked how he was managing the stress, turmoil, and anxiety in his life. His reply blew me away.

Bill quoted the above passage and said, “David, I figure God must have great confidence in me, and knew I could handle it, or he would never have let me go through all this.” I was blown away. Talk about faith and perseverance under fire. I have never forgotten that conversation, even after more than twenty years.

Recently, it has really struck home, as I have found myself in similar circumstances. My wife and I are the proud parents of four children, all siblings, whom we adopted three years ago. We consider them a blessing, but that does not mean there have not been some real rough spots along the way. There have been several times when I have opened my Bible to First Corinthians ten, read that verse, and prayed, “Lord, please let this mean that you have that kind of confidence in our faith, and give us the strength to carry on another day.” Whether it is true or not I do not know, but it has certainly given me the courage to keep going on many an occasion. Perhaps it is just another reinforcement of something else Paul wrote in that same letter (15:58):

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

Or maybe even what he wrote in Philippians 4: 11 -13:
Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me.

All I know is, I am thankful that I knew Bill, and even more thankful that I know God.

David