Myth #1 - God won't give you more than you can handle

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The following is from #1 of an 11 week series entitled: That's Not What the Bible Says
"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..." 1 For 10:13 (NASB)



   Is it an encouraging thought that God knows your precise limit and that He never allows one ounce more than you can handle to come into your life? My mind conjures up an image of a man at the gym lifting weights with a trainer. The trainer never allows him to "max out", but always keeps him lifting weights that he knows are within the limits the man can handle. Except that's not how it works. Anyone who has ever lifted weights knows the goal is not to lift what you can, but what you cannot. Adding more weights little by little, challenges and stretches the limits of the body thereby increasing the mass of the muscles and ability of the body. In other words, the way to grow when working out is by always pushing beyond your limit. The idea that God won't give you more than you can handle is a myth.

   The myth comes from the above Bible verse: "...God...will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able..." Tempted can also mean tested or tried, as in testing. Paul plainly tells us that the testing or trials that we endure will never be beyond our abilities. But, that's not the end of the verse:  "...but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.." This is normally where the second part of the myth comes into play. "Okay, so God will allow more than we can handle, but He gives us a way out." Many people think that God gives us an out, an emergency exit when the pressure is simply too much. However, that's not what Paul says either. He mentions the way of escape. Not an escape hatch, but a path. When the LORD allows great trials to come into our life, He has a very specific path that He wants us to navigate. 

   The truth is that God will allow us to face more than we can handle.  Don't believe me? Just ask Daniel or his three friends, David as he stood before Goliath, Paul with a snake hanging off his hand, the Israelites after leaving Egyptian captivity, or any others who have been faced with insurmountable situations. Each of these faced trials that were well-beyond their own abilities and resources. And yet, in each case, they made it through. Why would God place them (and us) in such situations? There may be any number of answers but, in a nutshell, God wants us to realize that we are insufficient without Him. He will allow us (and in some cases deliberately lead us) to that place of realization. And, although it can be quite frightening, it is also the safest place to be. The LORD wants to be our one true foundation, and He has a remarkable way in helping us come to that realization.

   What you are facing may be more than you can handle, but it will never be more than Jesus can handle. Cry out to Him and allow His strength to work in you. (see 2 Cor. 12: 7-10)





* Image borrowed from http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/double_x/the_kids/2014/05/140515_KIDS_Lying.png.CROP.original-original.png

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