GOD WON'T GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE

Ummm…really?

”Di yan bibigay ng Diyos kung di mo kaya” (God won’t give you that if you can’t handle it). Maybe you said or heard that phrase too. Some even quote 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful & he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength” to support that phrase.

To understand a bible verse we need to know its context.

St. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 10:13 to the Christians who were attending the church in Corinth. It was a modern town with people from different places & backgrounds. There were pagans (non-Jews or non-Christians) there who worshipped false gods & goddesses, practiced idolatry, drunkenness & prostitution. The converts (Christians of Corinth) struggled with sexual immorality, gluttony, drunkenness & other sinful acts because Corinth was a place filled with temptation. This is why St. Paul wrote to them. Here is the full verse - “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, & he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” - 1 Corinthians 10:13

What is the verse saying?

Clearly, this verse isn't about God not giving you more burdens that you can handle. St. Paul was telling those attending the Church of Corinth that they were not exempted from experiencing temptation. The Israelites were tempted. Even Jesus was tempted. The verse is about overcoming temptations by God’s power. We can’t use 1 Corinthians 10:13 to say that "GOD WON'T GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE”.

Next, the first part of the phrase says, "GOD WON'T GIVE YOU”. That assumes that God is the source of our trials. Pause & think about your problems. Who or what is the source of them? Aren't problems due to the poor choices you made? Isn’t sin the cause of some our trials? We will always experience troubles while we are living in this broken world. God may ALLOW trials to mold us, to increase our faith & to make us holier. God ALLOWS problems in our lives but God doesn't GIVE them.

The last part of the phrase says, "MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE". If God allowed only trials that "YOU CAN HANDLE” that means that you don’t need God to overcome them. Why call on God if you can handle trials by yourself? Psalms 46:2 says, "God is our refuge & our strength, an ever-present help in distress”. Is that a lie? Why would Jesus say, "ask & you will receive" (Luke 11:9) if we can do everything by ourselves? God is our Father who wants us to ask for help. That’s why Jesus tells us to ask God to give our daily bread. He doesn’t tell us to ask for a month’s supply. He tells us to ask as often as possible, to ask daily.

So, did GOD promised that HE won't give you more than you can handle?

NO.

God allows trials that are more than you can handle. But GOD WILL ALWAYS HELP YOU HANDLE ALL THE TRIALS THAT YOU HAVE!

Big or small trials, God will be there for you!

Instead of reading 1 Corinthians 10:13 when you are encountering troubles, believe in 2 Corinthians 12:9 which says “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

That's the key! God’s grace is enough. No matter how big your problem is, God's grace is enough. God knows that you're weak but HE allows burdens so you can RELY MORE on HIM. God is teaching you to RELY LESS ON YOURSELF & RELY MORE ON HIM.

Don’t let your problems pull you down. Instead, #riseup & BE STRONG. Read the next verse.

"I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, & constraints, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong” - 2 Corinthians 12:10

BE STRONG because God will empower you.

"I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” - Philippians 4:13

Always DEPEND on God because God will always DEFEND you! - Alvin Fabella alvinfabella@yahoo.com

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