In our last Q&A, titled, “Are there phrases in the Bible that have become normal in society today? (Part 2),” we covered this question briefly, as follows:
“God will never give you more than you can handle
“This is another common phrase which, as quoted, is not in accordance with Scripture. It is not found in the Bible. One commentary stated astutely: ‘When someone is going through a difficult time in life, whether they are feeling overwhelmed, stricken with grief, or just generally burdened, they are often encouraged that though their challenges are considerable, God would never give them more than they could handle. But, despite what we might say, God will give us more than we can handle [or bear]. Rather, God will never allow us to be tempted [or tested] beyond what we are able to [handle or bear]. He will always provide a way for us [to escape and] to be faithful to Him, even when the pull toward a different path is as strong as it has ever been.’… So, whatever we are being confronted with, GOD will help us. We need GOD… on our own, we can do and accomplish nothing. But with God, we can do and endure everything.”
We also quoted 1 Corinthians 10:13 in that portion of the above-cited Q&A, which reads:
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
In this Q&A, we will address the issue at question in more detail.
Of course, God does not tempt us so that we sin. In our booklet: “Teach Us To Pray” on page 60, we read under the heading: “But…God Tests Us:
“While God never tempts us to sin, He does test us, to help us NOT to sin. Sometimes His tests can be very difficult. And so, this is another way we can understand Christ’s admonition to us regarding our prayer to the Father. For instance, in the Jewish New Testament, by David H. Stern, it is written: ‘And do not lead us into hard testing…’ This is also an accurate translation in the context, and here is why:
“The New Testament Greek word for ‘temptation’ (‘peirasmos’), and the Greek word for ‘to tempt’ (‘peirazo’), can also mean, ‘trial’ and ‘to test.’ The same is true for the Hebrew words in the Old Testament, ‘massah’ and ‘nasah,’ which can mean ‘temptation’ and ‘tempt,’ or, ‘trial’ and ‘test.’ The context of the passage dictates the correct usage, and in most cases, the correct rendering is very clear.
“As we will see, we should want God to test us so that we grow stronger in a spiritual sense, so that we will become approved in His eyes. We know, however, that we can ask the Father not to make it too hard for us, as Christ indicated in the outline prayer. Jeremiah once prayed: ‘O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing’ (Jeremiah 10:24). So did David (Psalm 6:1; Psalm 38:1).
“In addition, especially insofar as end-time Christians are concerned, they should also pray, ‘… do not subject us to the final test’ (Matthew 6:13; New American Bible). This refers to the Great Tribulation—’the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth’ (Revelation 3:10). Christ says that those who follow Him diligently will be able to escape that hour of final test (same verse).”
Everyone who has ever lived will have had tests and trials at one time or another, and true Christians are not exempt in any way. In fact, we read in Acts 14:22 that Paul was “…strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’”
It is interesting to read about God’s promise and intent in 1 Corinthians 1:8: “… who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In this verse, stating that God is confirming us to the end, it means that we will make it with His help. Paul’s expression in Philippians 1:6, under godly inspiration, was very similar, stating that he was “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…”
God hasn’t called us to fail and He will do everything He can to see that we succeed. He doesn’t give us anything that we can’t overcome because He is there assisting us, and maybe at times pushing us past our human limits but not beyond our total limit which includes His marvellous and wonderful help.
The overall message and understanding is that God is always faithful to His chosen ones, and with every trial that we encounter, He will offer us the strength needed in such circumstances. And that is why we need to be and stay close to God, through daily prayer and study, where He sees our commitment to Him, and He will grant us His supernatural help whenever we need it.
So, it is biblically incorrect to say that God will never give us more than we can handle, if we just focus on our human strength. In fact, based on our human strength, we cannot do anything, and we cannot handle any trial which God gives us or allows to test us.
On the other hand, it is biblically correct to say that God will never give us more than we can handle when we focus on God’s help, who will sustain us to succeed. God knows how severe a trial He can allow, as He knows us better than we do, and He knows that with His help, we can succeed.
Prolific Christian writer, Charles R Swindoll, in his book on Abraham, pages 258-259, makes these observations:
“A test usually makes us feel vulnerable. We get weak. We begin to panic. We try to find safety in the familiar. We avoid taking risks. But tests of faith call for boldness. You may have heard it said that ‘God never gives us more than we can handle’. That’s absolutely wrong! He frequently challenges us to trust Him more by giving us far more than we can handle on our own. He wants us to turn to Him in desperation and ask for His assistance. He’s always willing to help, but he wants us to recognise our need and to want Him.”
When the apostle Paul writes that God won’t test us beyond what we are able to bear, he means not beyond what we are able to bear with God’s help. We are not independent of God when this happens; God makes up the difference between our own capacity and that which we need to handle the situation in hand. It is also important to note again the second part of Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says: “…but with the temptation [He] will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
Sometimes, we need a way out of trouble, and God must show us that way; otherwise, we might indeed be unable to bear the trial.
We said earlier that Paul’s statement that “no temptation” has overtaken us which is uncommon to man, and that God will not allow us “to be tempted” beyond what we are able to bear (as He will provide us with His help), should be rendered with “severe trial” or to be tested.” This is certainly true, as God does not tempt us to sin. On the other hand, God does at times ALLOW Satan to tempt us, and we should be mindful of this fact and ask God not to “lead us into temptation”—that is, not to allow Satan to bring severe temptations upon us. As we should ask God not to test us too severely, so we should also ask God not to allow Satan to tempt us too severely. But even when those trials and temptations come, which we could not master on our own, we can rely on God who is there to help us so that we can bear (or escape) all of them.
We should note that God’s Spirit LED Christ into the wilderness after His baptism TO BE TEMPTED by Satan (Matthew 4:1) for forty days and forty nights. But God the Father was with Christ the entire time to give Him the power and strength, as well as the wisdom, to reject and overcome Satan’s temptations.
And so, we need God’s assistance at all times and then, with His help, we can truly say that we can handle anything that is thrown at us as we head towards the Kingdom of God. The good news is that God will give us all the help we need in every situation we face even if by our own normal human standards, such testing is beyond our human capabilities to handle. And that is the key. And God gets the glory!
It is not God’s Will that we should fail and He will help us to overcome the testing and trials and temptations that may come our way so that we may have everlasting life in His soon-coming Kingdom!
Lead Writers: Brian Gale (United Kingdom) and Norbert Link