A Heartwarming Lesson from a Cold Morning

DEVOTION • “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Read time: 3 min

This morning was 9° Fahrenheit as I hustled into the gym in shorts and a T-shirt. The cold was bitter and painful, and I grimaced at the thought of having to stay outdoors. An hour later, after vigorous exercise in the gym, I walked back to my car. It was the same temperature as when I walked in, but this time, the cold felt almost refreshing. I thought to myself: “A little painful, but not too bad.” Why the change? The external stimuli hadn’t changed. My body’s temperature had.

We might generalize this: Two or more people insufficiently dressed in the same cold may agree that the weather is frigid. But one who has been in the cold for an hour may be on the brink of death, while another may have just stepped outside, and yet another may have just finished a vigorous workout. Their subjective experience of the same cold will be very different.

This physical phenomenon illustrates a spiritual principle:

Our subjective experience of the external world says more about what is happening in us than about what’s happening to us.

This seems to be a large part of Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 10:1–14. He begins the passage,

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:1-6, emphasis added).

This is sobering and encouraging news for those of us who follow Jesus. Trials, tribulations, and temptations are universal givens in our fallen world. Afflictions, though they may differ in the particulars, are categorically said to be “common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13). So, regardless of what is happening to us or around us, walking in close fellowship with the Lord—meditating on his promises, praising him for his provisions, and depending on his protections—will profoundly shape our experience of and responses to the bitterest of circumstances.

May you draw near to the Savior and clothe yourself in the warmth of his presence to prepare for whatever elements you’re facing today.

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Heavenly Father, help me to internalize your truths deeply, so that even in the bitterest cold, my spirit warms to the touch of your presence, changing how I perceive and endure the trials of this life. Amen. ❖