SUNDAY LESSON, 9/6/20
THE BIBLE DOESN’T SAY THAT:
“GOD WON’T GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE.”
1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
“Remember what the Bible says, ‘God won’t give you more than you can handle.'”
If you have ever been told that by a well-meaning friend or family member, you were probably going through a very difficult time. The words are meant to bring encouragement and comfort. However, while waiting in the ER to frantically hear if your severely injured child will live or die, those words fall flat, or, even worse, they deeply anger you.
Not only is this phrase not found in the Bible, it is not true. Some of you are thinking, “Preacher, I know that my grandma used to say something like ‘God will not give you more than you can bear.'” Not only did I hear my grandma say that, but I’m afraid that I may have said it a couple of times myself trying to comfort someone going through a tough time. This popular saying is merely a misapplication of the words the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
