God Will Give You More Than You Can Handle
Is it true that God won’t give you more than you can handle? What does scripture say about how do we overcome our temptations?
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13 & Matthew 4:1-11
I’m going to be straight with you right out of the gate. There's nowhere in the Bible where it says that God will not give you more than you can handle. The phrase that the popular phrase that God won’t give you more than you can handle gets pulled from is actually in 1 Corinthians.
“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.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Paul is talking about temptation and what God promises us when we face the attack of the adversary. When we're facing temptation, God will not allow any temptation to come into our life that we are not able to deal with, endure, and be an example for the rest of the world with the power of Christ.
What God promises is that He will be with you to walk through any difficulty that you have. It's not that you can handle it, but God can handle it for you. What He’s particularly interested in: Do we understand what happens when temptation comes into our life?
Whatever you're facing, whatever you haven't told the people you love, whatever you're worrying about or struggling with, there's nothing that we've done, or has been done to us, that with God's power and grace, we can't stomp the head of the adversary and say no more.
In 1 Corinthians 10, the church in Corinth shares what they are struggling with, and Pauls shares these warnings.
Paul’s Four Principles of Temptation
1. Temptation is common to humankind
Until we pass from this earth, we are left in a broken world that will hurl the temptation of the adversary at us. But Paul reminds us that this is not new; in fact, it's been happening for ages. It came before us, and it is going to be there for the generations after us. So in verse 12, Paul warns that “if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall.”
2. God is faithful
We are not enough. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. So in that attack, circumstance, situation, whether it’s your marriage, parents, children, relationship or friendship, finances or whatever it may be, there's nothing the adversary can throw at you, that you cannot bear in the fullness of God's faithfulness.
3. God Will Provide a Way Out
Look at what it says at the very end of verse 13, "…but when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can endure it." Did you read that? "So that you can endure it."
4. God is Preparing Your Struggle
While you're going through your struggle, if you will hand it to Him, He will see you through. No matter what you're being tempted with, no matter how Satan attacks you, there is absolute hope beyond hope.
The Temptation of Christ
You’re probably saying, Shane, that sounds great but I need some more. Well, let’s look to Jesus. The only man to live a perfect life. How did He endure temptation?
If we look at Matthew 4:1-11, we see the Temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Why did Christ have to endure the temptations? He had to go through that struggle is so that He could show us what was the other side of the coin. The things that we worry about and struggle with are simply the other side of the coin of how God's grace can change us. We don't have to go far. We don't have to do extraordinary things. We only have to be faithful and follow Him.
That is the difference, friends. In our minds, we get caught in things and how we look at our problems. And we say, “Oh, God, why is this on me? Why am I dealing with this?” God is gracious to walk us through those places, and He will be merciful to walk you through. He's not trying to show you how you can fail. God is trying to show you how you can survive and prevail.
Let's break down the “Temptations of Jesus,” verse-by-verse to see how He handled temptation.
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1)
How did Jesus end up in the wilderness? The Spirit led him there. And I'll tell you, whether you like it or not, there are times that God's going to guide you as an individual, a family, an employee, a church member, and so on, into situations that we would call the wilderness. Paul says it so that you can be a witness and others will see what Jesus was in this world.
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry…” (Matthew 4:2)
I love this; He doesn't just go into the wilderness and suddenly start taking the tests of Satan. Jesus goes in and endures a great deal of spiritual formation. He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and He’s done everything that He's been asked to do. In His current state, He’s more aware of his humanity than ever before. His physical side is hungry, but, spiritually, He's strong.
How many of you have gone through struggles where you were in the best part of your relationship with God, so you'd ask, "Why am I going through this horrendous situation?" Look at what Jesus went through.
What's the first thing that Jesus says we should ask for after we set the stage in the Lord's Prayer? "God, let your will be done here on Earth and as it is in heaven, but give us our our daily bread." He's telling us to ask for the things we need.
God is more than aware of the needs of our human form and brokenness. Yet, so often, we feel guilty for praying for things we need. In the grand scheme of things, it may not seem significant when you compare needing a new job to world hunger or genocide, but God knows we have needs. As a father, I'll tell you, I might not like everything my children ask of me, but there should be nothing they should be afraid to ask. And that's the same thing that Jesus tells us in this verse.
“The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’” (Matthew 4:3-4)
It is recorded that Satan tempted Jesus three times in this encounter. Jesus shows us that basically, every temptation we face will fall into one of these three temptations.
What's the first one? The first temptation is that our basic needs tempt us. Would you love to be at peace in your financial situation? Would you love for restoration in your relationships? Are you a parent in dire need of more patience for your children? Jesus tells us that even in our basic needs, we can be tempted, but we're not supposed to do and live by that bread alone, but by every word that comes from God.
“Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written:
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:5-7)
Here we see Satan's second temptation, and again, he's quoting scripture.
Do you know when we put God to the test? It's because we have the emotion of pride that comes up and Satan loves pride because it means that we've got more of us and not more space for God.
The first Beatitude tells us that we are entirely destitute because the less there is of us, the more there can be of God. Therefore, when I get prideful is when I make a fool of myself.
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’” (Matthew 4:8-10)
Here, we see the third temptation. Again, the devil took him high up a mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
I've thought long and hard about what this third temptation is, and I think I've come to realize it's a spectrum. When we go from one end to the other end of the spectrum, we have stubbornness. So on one side, we have stubbornness, but you have the easy way out on the other side.
Sometimes God calls us to do the hard things in life. Because we're always students and teachers, as we follow Jesus, God constantly reminds us and shares the new things that come along. I think it means those have to be delivered, but it's going to cost something. Discipleship costs something. It's not free. It cost God his son.
Jesus tells us that if you want to follow Him, you need to deny yourself, take up your cross and then follow Him.
You can't always take the easy way out. Sometimes you need to make hard decisions. But you can't be stubborn either. You must be faithful. There is a point in everyone's life where we are not enough.
“Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Matthew 4:11)
Isn't that powerful?
You can’t do this alone. Even Jesus sought found help when this was over. Stop trying to resist on your own.
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About Christ Church Memphis
Christ Church Memphis is church in East Memphis, Tennessee. For more than 65 years, Christ Church has served the Memphis community. Every weekend, there are multiple worship opportunities including traditional, contemporary and blended services.