“God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Maybe someone has said this to you when you were on the “struggle bus” of life. Maybe you said these words to someone who was on the struggle bus. Where does that phrase come from? Is that something that God has promised us? Is it something that we can put our trust in when we are on the struggle bus of life?

The answer is no. It’s not exactly found in the Bible that way. It’s not a promise from God. Actually, just the opposite is true. The apostle Paul, when he writes his letters, describes times in his ministry when the enemies of the gospel were actively seeking to take his life. He said, “We were beyond our ability to endure. We were overwhelmed with despair.”

Or there was another time he was on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and for two weeks, a storm of hurricane-force winds was tossing the ship back and forth, and he wrote, “We despaired of life. We gave up all hope of being saved.”

God often gives us more than we can handle. And I’m sure you have felt that way, and I’m sure you have said to yourself, God is giving me more than I can handle now. Those times when the drill sergeants were eagerly waiting for you at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. Or that time you got really anxious because there was a no-go on a mountain phase or a jungle phase and you had to be recycled.

Or maybe there was that deployment when you were away from friends or family members or a spouse. Or maybe you were the one who was left behind while your spouse or child or friend was deployed. Or maybe it was an injury or an illness, and it caused you to have to separate from the military and pursue another vocation. And you said, God is giving me more than I can handle.

So where does that phrase come from, that God won’t give you more than you can handle? Well, oftentimes it’s a misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 10:13, where the apostle Paul says, “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.”

The apostle Paul, first of all, wants to teach us that when it comes to temptation, the devil attempts to convince us that trusting in God’s promises and God’s will for our life is optional. Paul tells us that there is nothing the devil will throw at us that should surprise us.

Secondly, Paul teaches us that the devil will tempt us to believe that God doesn’t care, that maybe he doesn’t have the ability to help us in our situation with a particular struggle in life. Or the devil will tempt us to believe that we can by our own resolve or grit get ourselves out of a difficult situation. Or finally, maybe the devil tempts us to completely despair and believe there is no way out.

God promises, “I will always provide a way out of that temptation.” And the way out of temptation is Christ Jesus, who rode the struggle bus his entire life, being harassed and afflicted by the devil. But he withstood the devil’s attacks and temptations perfectly, and he did it for you and for me.

Christ Jesus is the way out of temptation. He promises that even when it feels like God is giving you more than you can handle, he is with you to provide direction when you feel lost. He will remind you that, yes, he does love you. He will encourage you that in your weakness, God will prove to be your strength. He promises you that God’s grace is sufficient for you when he gives you more than you can handle.

So, my friends, remember that he, the maker of heaven and earth, is handling it. Trust that he is. Trust that Christ is enough for you.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, when tempted, no one can say, “God is tempting me.” For you, O Father, tempt no one. Sometimes you test our faith through the trials and tribulations of life. You often do, only so that you can draw us, your children, back to you. Guide us and strengthen us so that we do not fall into temptation by the scheming of the devil, the sinful world, or the desires of our sinful self. Help us to look to your Son, Jesus, who defeated the devil’s lies for us, and to trust that by your Son, Jesus, we are holy in your sight.

Today I ask that you watch over those who are just getting their feet wet in military life, the junior enlisted. Grant them a sense of duty to the mission, respect for their commanding officers, and servants’ hearts. Cause them to grow into faithful leaders so that our nation’s military remains strong. I ask it, in the name of your dear Son, our Savior, Jesus. Amen.