“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
This verse is quoted more often than you may think. I bet you hear it all the time. The problem is, it’s usually misquoted. What we usually hear is, “God will never give you more than you can bear.” But that’snot what this says, is it? Go ahead. Check your own Bible. You won’t find that phrase in there, no matter what translation you use. I think that this misquote has caused more self-condemnation and guilt than any other. If we believe that God lovingly created us (which He did) and He knows us even better than we know ourselves (which He does), and He says we should be able to handle whatever comes our way (which He didn’t), then what does it say about us when we just can’t seem to handle the situations in our lives? That’s not who God is. He doesn’t want us to handle things on our own. The truth us, we can’t handle some things on our own. But God can. As we surrender to Him, the Holy Spirit gives us God’s power, strength, courage, patience, and whatever else we need.
So what does this verse say? Well, it’s talking about temptation and it’s saying that you have never faced a temptation that’s any stronger or weaker than someone else’s. The words “common to mankind” are one word in the Greek and it simply means that all humanity face the same temptations. Some hit us harder than others. Some may struggle with the sin of drunkenness. Thank God, that’s not a temptation for me. But I don’t get off the hook! I am often very tempted by other sins that may not phase the alcoholic. But that temptation is never stronger than God can handle. Did you catch that? Not stronger than you or I can handle. God is the only one strong enough to help us bear up under the temptation. That’s why it’s so important to remember His faithfulness. He’s always there for us. He’ll never let us crash and burn. Oh, we may stumble and fall down, but even then, He’s there to pick us up. In fact, not only does He pick us up, He provides a way out. This version says the temptation has “overtaken” us, but others use the word “seized.” I like that better because doesn’t it sometimes feel as if we’ve been captured and are being held prisoner by a temptation? But God will show us a way out of that prison if we will just look to Him.
The next time you hear someone say that God will never give you more than you can bear, gently remind them – and yourself – that God’s the One who can endure anything. Nothing is too strong for Him. It’s true that as long as we’re on this earth we will be bombarded by temptations, but not one of them will be too much for God. Which means that not one of them will be too strong for you or me, as long as we’re living in His strength.