More Than We Can Handle

Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:12–13

Summary: In this passage, the Apostle Paul reassures believers that God is faithful and will not allow them to be tempted beyond what they can bear, providing a way to endure through trials.

Big Idea: God equips us to overcome our trials by reminding us of His faithfulness and the strength we receive through our relationship with Christ.

Teach

Tonight, we are continuing our series called the Bible doesn’t say that.

In this series, we have already looked at two popular verses, Philippians 4:13 the first week and Matthew 7:1 last week.

We talked about how our culture has taken them out of context and makes them to mean something that the Bible, just doesn’t say.

This week we are looking at the phrase “God will not give you more than you can handle.”

In other words, God knows how much each of us can take and endure, therefore, He will not allow you to suffer more than that.

Now, I get the heart behind this phrase, but there are a couple of things wrong with it.

The first thing wrong with this statement is that it is often used to try and encourage someone or to give them a shot in the arm when they are down and out, you know like a pick me up.

I mean sure the person saying this most likely means well, but when life has beaten you down and you feel like you are at your breaking point, and someone walks up to you and says, “Just remember, God will not give you more than you can handle” doesn’t make all your problems just magically disappear.

But it may make you want to take out your frustrations or anger from this life out on that person.

(Very animated and angrily say, “I will show you God will not give me more than I can handle, because I have more than I can handle right now!”)

I know there have been times in my life where I have felt like if one more thing went wrong, it would be the end of me.

This life can throw many trials and challenging things at us and sometimes they can happen all at once.

For instance, imagine a parent losing a child in a bad car accident.

Or after someone has been fired from their dream job because of no fault of their own.

Or think about Job in the Bible, in one day he lost his family, his wealth, and his health shortly after, do you think he would have been comforted by someone saying to him “God will never give you more than you can handle”.

Since we are living in a fallen world, we all can face things that are very difficult to handle.

The second thing is, we need to understand that the Bible doesn’t even say it.

Nowhere, in the Bible does it say that God will not give us more than we can handle especially when it comes to suffering, but this saying most likely comes from Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Where Paul says, “He (referring to God) will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”

So, people take this, pluck it out of context, and twist it to mean that God will NOT give us more than we can handle or bear, but is that really what Paul referring to here.

So, let’s read verse 12 and 13 together and then dig into it to see what Paul is really talking about here.

1 Corinthians 10:12–13 (NIV)

12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 that you can endure it.

If we apply some of the Bible study tools which we talked about a couple weeks ago, we see repeated words.

For example, the words tempted, and temptation are used 3 times in one verse.

This can help us understand that Paul is clearly talking about temptation here and when we look at the verse in context of the entire chapter, we see that this makes sense.

You see, Paul was writing this letter to the church in Corinth and in the culture of their day they were dealing with idolatry (worshiping fake gods).

This has been Paul’s theme for the last couple of chapters.

In chapter 9 he talks about eating foods sacrificed to idols and in chapter 10 before verses 12 and 13 which we just read, Paul reminds the reader of Israel’s history of sinning against God.

So, Paul is giving a warning to the church at Corinth, which we can apply to ourselves about dealing with temptation, and not about how much we will suffer in this life.

Now that we have established that Paul is talking about how to deal with temptation, let’s see what we can learn from his words in this verse.

In verse 12, Paul gives a warning, standing firm or standing your ground, you need to be careful that you don’t fall.

1 Corinthians 10:12–13 (NIV)

12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.

The first thing we need to understand is,

1. When we are tempted, we should be cautious against becoming overconfident.

This can lead us to becoming overconfident in our own abilities and our restraint and we can let our guard down.

One example of this in the Bible, is where Peter boldly claimed he would never deny Jesus, even when others would.

His overconfidence was quickly met with the harsh truth—he denied knowing Jesus not once but three times.

This serves as a powerful reminder that, like Peter, our self-assurance or overconfidence can lead us down a path of sin if we do not stay humble and aware of our weaknesses.

It teaches us to rely on God’s strength rather than our own prideful strength.

Often, once we have withstood a certain temptation, we can start to gain some confidence and think that we can handle it the next time, no problem.

Once we stop being cautious against being overconfident, our guard goes down and before we know it, Satan is pouncing on us with a temptation, and we can find ourselves giving into the temptation.

I have seen a few people over the years, who many people classify as Godly men and women.

People who have a heart for God and they have been in a relationship with Jesus for decades and suddenly you see them give into a temptation that I would have never guessed that they would have fallen prey to.

You see, when it comes to temptation, we need to realize that we all can be prone to giving into that temptation, especially when we start trusting in our own strength.

Christ is the only one who has ever lived a perfect sinless life and through His coming to fulfill the law and pay the penalty for our sins, we can rest assured that we have a God who keeps His promises.

Instead, we need to remember to be confident in a faithful God.

2. We can have confidence in God's Faithfulness.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

In the New Testament, Paul’s letters often speak of his sufferings.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, he shares how God’s grace was sufficient for him in weakness.

Paul embraced his weaknesses for, in them, he found strength through God's power.

This illustrates that our trials can have a purpose; they are opportunities for God's grace to be revealed in our lives.

James 1:12–13 NIV

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

The Bible not only teaches us that God is faithful to us, but that He does not tempt anyone.

We also know that we are tempted by our own evil desires and by Satan our adversary.

James 1:14 “14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

1 Peter 5:8 “8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

We are going to face trials and temptations in this life, but we need to remember that we have a God who is faithful to us and helps us.

Not only do we have the promise of God’s faithfulness, but we also have a promised path of escape when we are tempted.

3. God promises to provide us a path of escape.

The end of verse 13 says,

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

When we face trials and temptations, God will provide a way out, but it will be up to us to choose to take the provided path of escape.

This reminds me of the story of Joseph when he was sold by his brothers into slavery.

He found himself working in Potiphar’s house who was an Egyptian official facing the advances of Potiphar’s wife.

Joseph had a choice to make, give into the temptation and sin against Potiphar and God, but instead Joseph chose to run as fast as he could away from the temptation.

God provided him a way out, reminding us that no temptation is too great for us to resist if we rely on God’s strength.

Another example which comes to mind is the Israelites in the desert, continuously tempted to return to Egypt during their journey to the Promised Land.

They often complained to Moses, longing for the comforts of their former lives.

Yet, God consistently provided for them—manna from heaven, water from rocks, and guidance through the cloud and fire.

This shows that even when we face temptations to turn back to old habits and directions, God provides a way forward if we trust Him.

These biblical examples remind us that temptation can be combated with steadfast faith and reliance on God's provision.

And that God will provide a way for us to resist the temptation, however, we must be willing to look for it and take it.

Here are a couple practical things we can do to help us not fall into sin when we are tempted:

Trust in God’s Word! This one is proactive meaning we need to do it in advance, but it also helps us understand how important it is to read God’s Word on a daily basis. Because when we do we can recall certain verses which may deal specifically with a certain sin. It can definitely help us store up God’s Word in our hearts so that we can trust in it as we fight temptation in our everyday life. God’s Word is alive and it is good for teaching, rebuking, and correcting so that we may be fully equipped to live out our Christian walk.

Stop and pray! The first thing we can do when we are faced with a temptation, is to stop whatever we are doing or about to do and pray asking God for guidance and strength to withstand whatever it is we are being tempted by. This helps us also trust in God’s strength and not rely on our own strength.

So, we need to remember that as we face temptations in this life, we need to be cautious about being overconfident in our own strength, we need to be confident in God’s faithfulness, and that He promises to provide a path of escape.

Let’s Pray!

Dismiss small groups.

Small Group Questions

Have you ever felt like you had more than you could handle on your plate? (Please share)

What is the key message that the sermon conveys about the phrase 'God will not give you more than you can handle'?

Have you ever been overconfident in your own abilities and strength?

Think of a time in your life where you fell into sin, looking back on it, do you see that there was a way of escape? (Please share)

Thinking about a current temptation you are facing, how could applying the two practical steps that Chris mentioned earlier help you overcome that temptation?