God is faithful in your temptations, tests, and trials. 

“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.” ” Ist Corinthians 10:13.

We were discussing the passages that say God is faithful in the last few daily sessions. In prior lessons, we have seen God’s faithfulness by which He promised He would be faithful to you and will not leave you alone, God’s faithfulness in your salvation and preservation, His incomparable faithfulness through and through it all, and His staggering faithfulness in forgiving and purifying.

Today’s insights say God is faithful when you face tests or temptations of all sorts. You may think your particular temptation is only yours. However, there are two truths that come out-the temptation has the potential to overtake you. Second, all temptations that you face in your life are common because others have the same temptation in their lives. It says no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. Listen! temptation has the potential to overtake you. But remember, you are not alone. They are common to all people.

The most important thing to remember is the next phrase in the middle of the passage- It says, ”God is faithful.” You see, God who called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ, is faithful amid your tests and temptations. How many of us want to hear this assurance that God is faithful when temptation overtakes us? Yes, I do. So are you. God is faithful even in the midst of severe tests and temptations that you struggle with.

The question is, how is God faithful amid trials and temptations? It says two things – God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to. Second, with the temptation, He will make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

This is not an easy topic to understand for many of us. The word used in 1 Corinthians 10:13 could mean ”test” also. Therefore, the Corinthian ‘believers’ test at the time of this Epistle could be the temptation to go back to the old idol worship system with all its immoralities.  The same type of temptation the children of Israel faced as the context of this chapter teaches us – to go back to the bondage in Egypt because life became hard and difficult for them. Moreover, the believers in Corinth then could avoid social, family, and economic ostracism from the people there. However, God’s presence and power are with them, and He would not allow them to be tested beyond what they are able to. Besides, God would provide the way of escape that they may be able to bear it. Many first and second-generation Christian believers can attest to this truth because we had witnessed God’s sustaining and redeeming power in our parents and our lives.

 I also think we need to understand the passage in the light of the whole counsel of the Bible. Joseph had severe temptations when he was faced with his brothers’ jealousy and later in Potiphar’s house from his wife. Of course, those were severe ones. Both promises- God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, and He will make or show you a way of escape were true in Joseph’s life. With the repeated temptation from Potiphar’s wife, Joseph ran away. Of course, running away from the spot of temptation is one way of escapes God shows us. It is still true. 

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 his experience in the province of Asia. He says, “we were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 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“. This, of course, was a test far beyond their ability to endure in Paul’s own words. Therefore we cannot say God would never give me more than I can bear or handle. We all know, and we felt certain times in the Christian experience things beyond our ability to endure, humanly speaking. 

However, truth emerges from Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, and this is this. Even if things happen that we feel beyond our ability to endure and despaired of life, we as believers in Christ can say with Paul-” this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

You see, God’s faithfulness is there even amid your temptations/tests and trials. He says He would not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able from His perspective because He is the all-powerful God who would divinely help you. It may be a little hard for us to comprehend in human terms. Secondly, He would undoubtedly provide the way of escape and look for that door of escape because He promised it.

Finally, suppose you feel the test you face is beyond your ability to endure, as Paul experienced in Asia. In that case, there is, of course, a reason why it happens. Why? So that you might never rely on yourself but only on the faithfulness of God, who raises the dead. You would completely put your trust in God and His promises and nothing else. The Bible says about God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.”

Recall your mind the previous daily insights of God’s faithfulness. Because He called you, He will not leave you alone. Remember God is faithful in your salvation and preserving you to the very end (referring to the day of Christ’s return), Remember, His incomparable faithfulness through and through it all, and His staggering faithfulness in forgiving and purifying. For details, refer to the previous daily insights.

Would you pray with me?

“Father in heaven, I thank you that you are faithful in my temptations and tests. You will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able and you will make the way of escape that I may be able to bear the burden of temptation/tests. Now if I feel unbearable, Lord you are faithful because I rely on you who called me into fellowship with your Son, Jesus. I rely on steadfast love and faithfulness which has no limit at all. I praise and worship you. I thank you for saving me in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus died, buried, and rose again for my sins and shortcomings and He is my savior all through my life and all the time.  In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”