Editorial

My Second Favourite Verse in the Bible

Two of the great psychological needs of human beings are hope and security.  And unsurprisingly the scriptures are replete with promises that speak to both.  My favourite verse in all of the bible is 1 Corinthians 2:9 which speaks of our ultimate eternal hope.  “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the mind of man what God has prepared for those that love him”.  I remember quoting these words to both my earthly parents as they slipped from this world and into their heavenly inheritance in recent years.

My second favourite verse is 1 Cor 10:13 and speaks to our security as believers “No temptation has seized you except that which 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 you can stand up under it”

I never recognised the extraordinary power of this verse until a friend quoted it to me in a crisis and I studied the Greek word for temptation, “peirasmos”.  It’s a word that appears 21 times in the New Testament and actually encompasses the dual meanings of temptation (inner struggle) and trial (outer struggle). Some of the better known passages where it appears include the temptation of Christ (Matt 4:1-11), the Lord’s prayer (“Lead us not into temptation”) and in the book of James (“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, James 1:2-3).

What a promise.  When we face inevitable challenges, God will always give you a pathway out.  Even if that pathway, as has been the case for Christian martyrs, is the eternal promise of 1 Cor 2:9.  For his sons and daughters, when we face battles of various kinds whether they be financial, physical, emotional, relational or spiritual, God ALWAYS finds a way through.  When? Every. Single. Time.  The cards are always stacked in our favour.  There is always light at the end of the tunnel. And what is more, he uses these trials to make us stronger in the future!

Peter Bain

Business Manager