God Will Not Suffer Us To Be Tempted Above That We Are Able... Eventually
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13). When we are up to our eyebrows in a seemingly never ending flow of disasters, tragedies and despairs, we may be forgiven for regarding with skepticism the promise that the Lord will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able. It is true that, whether we have brought it upon ourselves or not, life often chucks us into the deep end of the pool, with lead weights tied to our ankles for good measure. If it seems quite plain to us that God has indeed suffered us to fall into a temptation that is definitely, unequivocally above what we are able to bear, it is also true that God has no intention of allowing this untenable situation to persist indefinitely. We may feel like we are drowning, but God is going to teach us how to swim. If we put enough trust in Him, He may even teach us how to walk on top of the water. If we find ourselves in a temptation above that we are able, then we need to trust that God will keep to His word and, if He doesn’t give us a way to escape the temptation, then He will increase our abilities until we are able to bear it. The Lord commanded us to be perfect, and the only way, the only way, to do that is to be thrust into temptations above that we are able to bear, and to grow in wisdom and stature and favor until we are able, only for us to be thrust in deeper waters still, that we may grow yet more in wisdom and stature and favor with God. If we have been suffered to be tempted above what we are currently able, then we must give the Lord - and ourselves - time, time to be humbled, time to pray, time to go forth with faith, time to hope beyond hope, time to lose ourselves in our love and service to God and our brothers and sisters. God will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able... eventually.
