More than you can handle
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will SHOW YOU A WAY OUT so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
What they say you can handle
Have you ever heard the saying, “God will never give you more than you can handle?” I hear people debate whether that’s from the Bible or if it even represents God’s character. If you experience tremendous grief, illness, violence or abuse from others, or even self-inflicted damage, those can overwhelm any number of people, including you! I do not believe those devastating circumstances are always God’s desire or God giving you only what you can handle.
I do believe God allows such circumstances in this age—that of a fallen world and free will. And I do believe God uses any event for his glory and the ultimate good of those who trust him. See Romans 8:28.
Temptation is allowed
However, the Bible is clear regarding temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises that all will face temptation, including you. But God will not allow more temptation than you can stand.
I personally don’t like temptation. If I had my way, when I professed my faith in Jesus, I wish all temptations had been wiped away, but it seems just the opposite may be true. In fact, that was the case in Jesus’s life. Just after he was baptized, God’s Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for forty days. See the details in Matthew or Luke chapter 4. It makes logical sense—if you’re taking enemy territory from the devil, he is going to fight back, and temptation to sin is the devil’s number one weapon.
Stand with God against it
The last part of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is a key promise from God: he will SHOW YOU A WAY OUT! God’s protection against temptation isn’t necessarily a fight but may be a flight. The Apostle Paul says some temptations are so strong, you can’t even be around them. “Run from sexual sin!” Paul exclaims in 1 Corinthians 6:18. That’s what he is saying here, too. God will show you a way out of temptation, and you don’t have to succumb to sin. Two key elements:
1) Have God’s eyes to watch and see the way out.
2) Have God’s courage to take it.
Too many times, we surrender to temptation and sin when we are distant from God. When we’re mad about one of the legitimate hurts we’ve experienced or simply distracted by anything (idols) other than God. But when you are hiding from God, you are resting squarely in the arms of the devil.
Final warnings
If your eyes are on anything other than God, you are likely to miss the way out of temptation that God is showing you. Or you’ll doubt it and thus not have the courage to follow him out. Paul says that about sexual sin which can grab your eyes, body, and emotions. Money is a strong temptation for you to overspend, rob God of his tithe, or even rob others to get ahead. And in the current culture, it is a temptation to relieve your pain by using your words to hurt others. When you are tempted, God will SHOW YOU A WAY OUT.