Misquotes (Part I)

In this new series, we are going to set the record straight on some common misquotes of Scripture. Our first misquote is: “God will never give you more than you can handle.” Have you ever heard this misquote before? This is a misquote of 1 Corinthians 10:13:

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

There are several issues with this misquote because it is contrary to everything we read in the Scriptures. The misquote seems to suggest that we will not have trouble in this life or that nothing that may happen to us will be too heavy for us to carry. As we read through the Scriptures, we find the opposite of this message—we will indeed have trouble and encounter things we cannot overcome, and that is one of the reasons we need our great God.

“‘I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.’” (John 16:33)

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’” (Matthew 11:28-30)

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

We will have troubles, we will have heavy burdens, we will have worries, and we are told to give all of these over to God. He can handle them and He can carry them. We need to rely on God’s strength to carry us through. God is a loving Father to His children, and just like we want to carry burdens for our kids and help them when they are tired and weary, God wants to do the same for us. The greatest burden any of us have is our sin. We cannot carry that load alone and we certainly cannot pay the penalty for it and survive. We need a Savior. We need Jesus who paid the cost of our sin with His life, who is the only perfect lamb sacrifice.

“But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” (Hebrews 10:12)

Another issue with this misquote is that it falsely represents the message of the original quote! The promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is not about the trouble we will have in this life, but about the temptations we will face. It’s important to remember this verse accurately because God makes four promises in this verse: that our temptations are no different than what others experience, that He is faithful, that He will not allow our temptations to be more than we can stand, and that He will provide a way out. What these promises address is our constant battle. We will be tempted—we all have a fallen, sinful nature that will call to us, that the Enemy will use to lead us astray. This nature is always in conflict with the Holy Spirit, they are always fighting for our choice, and 1 Corinthians 10:13 makes it very clear that when we give in to temptation it is indeed by choice. We can’t ever say that we gave in to temptation because it was too much for us to handle or because there was no way out. God has not made room for those excuses.

“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” (Galatians 5:17)

Hold on to the truth of 1 Corinthians 10:13 and not the misquote that may be spoken or typed over a pretty photo and posted on social media. Of course there will be things in life that are more than we can handle, troubles and sorrows and worries that are too heavy for us to carry, but God reminds us that He has overcome the world and He longs for us to lay those burdens down at His feet.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed