1 Cor 10:13

More than you can Handle?

Tonight we’re talking about one of the most popular Christian phrases that almost everybody knows—and almost nobody gets right.

Maybe someone said it to you when you were stressed, hurting or overwhelmed:

“Hey… don’t worry. God will never give you more than you can handle.”

Sounds nice, right?…Let’s read the text:

1 Corinthians 10:13 “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.”

The text tells us that he will not let us be tempted beyond our ability, but that as humans we will be tempted…

In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28: Paul says that he was:

put in prison

He had been beat, stoned and shipwrecked

Endured dangers from rivers, robbers, Jews, Gentiles

Experienced sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, cold and exposure

and while he was doing all that … he also had a daily pressure and concern for his desire to care for the church

He goes onto say in 2 Corinthians 1:8–9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

It sounds exactly like Paul had more than he could handle…verse 9 tells us that he was so tired and overwhelmed that he just wanted to die…

But God was showing Paul something…that even in the middle of his hardship…He was teaching Paul to rely in Him!

And so what this text shows us is that God WILL give us more than we can handle…so that we will stop relying on ourselves and begin relying on Him!

Jesus said in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

God’s intention is for YOU to rely on HIM!

Think about these Spiritual Giants:

Moses said - he couldn’t lead the people.

David wrote in psalms about being crushed under fear and grief.

Elijah became so overwhelmed he asked God to take his life.

Paul literally said in the verse that we read just a minute ago that he was “burdened beyond our strength”

These weren’t weak people. They were heroes of the faith.

But they all hit moments where they said: “God… I can’t handle this.”

God allowed them to reach their breaking points so they would stop relying on themselves and start relying on Him.

God will give you more than you can handle—so you’ll lean on the One who can handle anything.

ILLUSTRATION

I want you to imagine that you put on a backpack. And now I want you to imagine that as you go about your day, that people begin to put things into your backpack: maybe the weight of school stress gets thrown in there, along with a little drama…a little later you get home and your backpack gets further weighed down by family issues, secret temptations, comparisons, worry, loneliness, etc…

And at first you could handle it. But eventually, the weight gets so heavy you start to shake, and before long your body just can’t carry the weight.

Now imagine I said to you: “Come on! You got it! God will never give you more than you can handle!”

Is that encouraging? —No it’s crushing..its crushing..its frustrating…its useless…

And I want you to listen to me tonight…

God never said, “Carry it all.”

But rather He said in 1 Peter 5:7 “to casts all of those burdens, those anxieties, that weight onto him…

You know why….because he cares for you!”

ILLUSTRATION — THE EXIT DOOR

Every school building has exit doors for emergencies. When something goes wrong, you don’t stand there and hope the fire disappears. You take the exit.

Temptation always has a God-provided exit. The question is: Will you take it?

So what are some of the exits God has given us when life gets too heavy?

If God does allow more than you can handle… what do you do?

#1 - Call out to God

Psalm 34:17–18 “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Tell him to truth about how you feel, and ask him to show you what you need to do to escape the temptation and bring him glory in that area of your life…

#2 - Lean on your brothers and sisters in Christ

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

The answer to our prayers and escape from the temptations that we are facing…often comes in the form of our brothers and sisters in Christ…so find someone you can trust with the temptations you are facing and let them hold you accountable and help you in your time of need.

#3 - Always remember that God’s strength shows up when we admit our weakness

2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Know that your weakness isn’t a shameful thing. It’s often the doorway to the power of God!

God doesn’t want you to be self-sufficient. He wants you to be God-dependent.

So let’s fix this phrase: God will never give you more than He can handle through you.

And that’s a far better promise.

When temptation comes—there’s a way out.

When life is overwhelming—God is with you.

When the weight is too much—He carries what you can’t.

You don’t have to be strong enough. You just have to be surrendered enough.

He is enough!