“God will never give me more than I can handle!”
How many of us have heard that statement? How many of us have said that statement? How many of us believe that’s in the Bible?
Yeah… no, it’s not in there.
What IS in there is this beautiful promise that no matter what temptations come our way, God provides a way out, a way to avoid following that temptation into sin.
By the way, temptation is NOT sin. There is a difference. Jesus was tempted. Jesus did NOT sin.
Just like he does everything, though, the enemy of our souls perverts all that is good and of God. Thus he has perverted believers’ understanding of this verse which then leads to dismay and doubt when we become overwhelmed.
God WILL allow more to come at you than YOU can handle. The idea is that you learn to lean on Him at all times instead of being willfully independent of Him. You, trusting Him, can tackle anything.
The beauty of these words is the truth that He understands just how weak we are. He knows that some of us can’t let a candy bar go uneaten and that we must buy that thing even though our credit cards are maxxed out. He knows that some struggle with drugs, pornography, and other things bad for us. He knows some struggle with sports, cars, homes, and hobbies that while not inherently bad for us, can come between us and Him.
Therein is the crux of the problem. Every temptation is an invitation to leave God’s way and take our own. Every temptation is an opportunity to destroy a relationship.
Too often we think the odds are stacked against us. When we’re trying to walk away from a certain sin that is hard to let go, the temptation to return to it keeps popping up and it’s ridiculously hard to avoid! Too often we cave in to that temptation because it’s “normal” or comfortable. It’s easier stepping into the known “comfort” of that sin instead of walking away into the unknown of what will happen when we don’t succumb.
We are afraid. Afraid we’ll sin, afraid of what we’ll feel if we don’t. Afraid we’ll lose a part of us, afraid we’ll lose friends. Fear is powerful, Believer, and the enemy uses it slyly to keep us enslaved to the things that are anti-God.
These words of Paul prove God’s infinite love for us in that He doesn’t just say “Go and sin no more,” He adds, “and I’ll help with that.”
When that temptation pops up, regardless what it is, stop looking at it and choose to look for the way of escape. Has He made the phone ring to take your mind off that next step toward sin? Did He send someone to ask a question before you took that item from the shelf to put in your shopping cart?
Whatever comes up, see it as the path of escape off the road leading away from God that you’re about to embark on.
When tempted, take a breath. Take a few breaths. Look around. Where is the escape route? It’s there. Find it and get on it. Start today.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
________________________
Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel where you’ll be able to hear more about this devotion and others.
Faye Bryant is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals escape the lies of the enemy, live into God’s truth, and build a better life by first feeling, dealing, and healing their way through a stuck future or an abused past, toward a deeper path of purpose, and into the unhackable life of their chosen legacy. Hers is a story of resurrection: from death to life!
