Tempted

We are all so glad to learn that God will never allow us to experience more than we can bear ... right? I mean, isn't that in the Bible?

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13)

No ... that's not what this text means. What does it mean? Let's look.

The first problem is our English word, "temptation." The Greek here isn't about "enticed to sin." It's about a trial, a testing, a proving. Sometimes God allows "enticement to sin" kinds of "temptations." (See, for instance, 1 Kings 22:23.) (Important note: He doesn't entice anyone to sin (James 1:13-15).) Sometimes He allows hard circumstances to test and prove. (Think of Abraham offering Isaac - Gen 22:1-19.) But the concept in view here is a testing, not an enticement. God will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able. The second problem is how you are able. It's not your strength, your ability, your fortitude. The ability is based on His provision of a "way of escape." You don't endure it because you hold up so well, but because He takes care of you. Sometimes, like with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that's through the fire. We aren't "more than conquerors" around the trials ... it's in them (Rom 8:37). We endure because God is faithful. It's not about what you can face. It's about what you can face with Him.

Our strength comes from dependence, not self-sufficiency. Our confidence comes from His faithfulness, not our ability. All of us will face temptation--trials, enticements, trouble. It can certainly exceed our personal capacity to endure. "But God" ... that marvelous phrase. He is faithful. He provides. He provides a "way of escape," not necessarily a way to avoid (Isa 43:2; Psa 23:4; Rom 5:3-4; James 1:2-4). Paul wrote to the Corinthians about his affliction later ... that it was "beyond our strength" (1 Cor 1:8-9). He didn't nullify this text; he confirmed it. "Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead" (2 Cor 1:9). This isn't a promise of a trouble-free life. It's a promise of God's faithfulness in the midst of our testing.