I know the tribulation of life can feel this way, but – for the Christian – it cannot accurately be said that a trial is simply “too much for me.” Oh, I have surely felt at my literal wit’s end in deep places of despair and struggle, but the Word of God stands true forever. Paul said triumphantly in I Corinthians 10:13 (NASB), “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, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Either we believe in the God of the Bible or we do not. As a Christian who trusts God for my salvation, I must certainly also trust Him for my survival through difficulty. How can I claim the miracle of Him saving me from the wrath my sin deserves, but I cannot also believe the miracle that He provides my way to escape the temptation to sin or to give up?
I Corinthians 10:13 outlines five important facts to remember:
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1) Every trial we undergo is common to the human race. Despite our tendency to think we are the only ones who have ever felt the way we do, God ensures that our trials are not out of the realm of human experience or toleration.
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2) God is faithful even though we are not. Too often we view God the way we view ourselves or other people. We tend to think that God will act with us the way we might act with others. We imagine that He could possibly give up on His own people. Yet, God is transcendent – completely different than us. He has promised to remain faithful to those who desire Him. He promises that – despite our unfaithfulness – He will never let us down in the midst of greatest difficulty. No matter the trial, He will stay with us to provide a way to obedience and victory.
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3) God will not give to us more than we can endure. The God who created our physical bodies and our emotional, mental, and spiritual make-up certainly ascertains and measures precisely the trials we go through. He knows far better than we do just exactly what we can handle.
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4) God always provides a way of escape. In other words, God will surely give to us what we need to flee the temptation to disobey and cave to Satan’s tactics. God does this by making clear to us a route of escape. Remember the Israelites stuck between the approaching Egyptian chariots and the waters of the Red Sea? God made a route of escape through the sea. God did it. The Israelites simply followed the way God provided. So it is in our current trial. God provides the way for us to make it through, though our minds may see only trouble behind and before.
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5) God’s plan is that we endure, not be destroyed. I know it feels as though this will be the end of you, but that is not God’s plan. He provides a way of escape that you may be able to endure. He wants you to press forward in your walk with Him, and finally – one blessed day – make it to your heavenly home.
Yes, our hearts break under the weight of anguish and difficulties of many kinds. However, let’s take God at His Word. Let’s memorize and ponder and live out the truth of I Corinthians 10:13. Then we can say, “This is not too much for me, for my God is faithful.”