I Corinthians 10:13
How many times have you heard folks use this verse as proof that God will never overwhelm you? I've heard it plenty of times and I started to believe it too. Recently I read a devotion by Joni Eareckson Tada and it cleared this up for me. Also, the context of this verse, as with all verses, is important to the understanding of this verse.
I'll start with the devotion. Here's the full passage:
”Oh Joni, isn't it wonderful that God will never test us beyond what we can endure? That's a promise from God!" I knew my friend Sue was looking for an affirmation, a confirmation that God would never "bend the bruised reed." As I nodded slowly, relief flooded her features. Sue had never faced the kind of mind-bending, soul-obliterating pain that now loomed on her horizon. But with the recent medical report and the looming prospect of a morphine-drip pump in her future, she was scared. Surely the Lord won't give me more than I can bear, she was thinking.
First Corinthians 10:13 is certainly a promise -- but it isn't talking about trials. It's talking about temptation. The promise is that God will always, always give you the power to say no to sin. But when it comes to heartaches, physical problems, and disappointments -- things out of your control, difficult circumstances suddenly thrust upon you -- you may very well be overwhelmed beyond what you can bear. There is a kind of suffering that rips your world apart and leaves you bewildered and wounded. There are trials that overwhelm. I drew a deep breath, showing my friend the context of the promise -- and her brow furrowed. "But take heart," I told her. "It's when we are at the end of our strength...that's when we fall helplessly into the everlasting arms of God. That's when God floods our hearts with sustaining grace."
You and I may indeed find ourselves overwhelmed at times -- at the end of our rope and beyond. But we will never fall farther than the palm of His hand. And where He has called us, His grace will sustain us.”
*Taken from Pearls of Great Price by Joni Eareckson Tada
To put 1 Corinthians 10:13 into context, verses 1-13 have the subtitle “Warnings from Israel’s History”. Paul is writing about temptations that the Israelites gave in to during their 40-year journey from Egypt to Canaan. His purpose is to warn believers about becoming overconfident and fall to temptation. In verse 6 he writes, “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”
Paul does warn against a few specific sins: idolatry (v. 7), sexual immorality (v. 8), testing Christ (v. 9), and complaining (v. 10). I’m going to use the idolatry example. Paul’s mention of idolatry was a reference to the Golden Calf in Exodus 32.
The Israelites were just out of Egypt, a nation that was polytheistic, and they gave into the temptation of making up gods. Generations of Hebrews grew up in this culture, but were able to remember the true God to worship Him instead. They fled Egypt and slavery under Moses, who was a servant of the true God. Once they reached Mt. Sinai though, Moses went up on the mountain and they lost faith in God. Then they have Aaron make a calf of gold to worship and started getting drunk and having orgies.
What happened? The Israelites gave into temptation. Why? They didn't seek God’s help in dealing with temptation. He didn't allow them to be tempted beyond what they could bear, they ignored God’s help. God would have helped them overcome their temptation had they only asked.
One final thing to explain about 1 Corinthians 10:13 is temptation is not from God. James 1:13-15 says, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
God might place trials in our lives to overwhelm us and remind us of our dependence on Him thereby strengthening our faith, but He will not tempt us. For clarity, God may allow temptation to happen in these trials, however, God is not the tempter. This is why the Lord’s Prayer includes the petition, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)
So, remember the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 when facing temptation and call on God for his help such that you can resist temptation. As James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
