Give us Higher Understanding

Does God Promise That He Will Not Give Us More Than We Can Handle?

Often, when someone is experiencing difficulty in their lives, someone else will say to them, “Don’t worry, God won’t give you any more than you can handle.

”  The verse most often quoted to support this is first Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13 ESV).

Unintended Consequences

Many times this verse is interpreted to mean that God will not allow anyone to experience any more heartache or difficulties than they can withstand.

It is understood to mean that, since He knows how much a person can bear, He will only allow difficulties right up to the point where the person will break, but stops just before he or she is overwhelmed.

The person is tested just to the point where one more thing would be more than one could withstand on his or her own.

However; this can, and often does, have the effect of turning the focus upon oneself instead of on God, where it should be. The person begins to rely on himself instead of looking to God for strength. This can lead to a self-dependence instead of God dependence. We can unwittingly stop relying on God for our strength because we have begun to rely on our self for it instead.

Not For Unbelievers

We also must remember that this promise does not apply to the unbeliever.  This verse is found in a letter from the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth.

  The churchgoers are assumed to be believers in Jesus Christ.

  As with many biblical promises, those who choose to reject God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ also place themselves outside of His promises for we who have surrendered to His Lordship and love.

As a matter of fact, God often uses overwhelming tragedy or heartaches to force people to realize that they cannot make it on their own.

  If an unrepentant sinner simply lived a life of ease and luxury, that person just might never see his or her need for a Savior at all.

  Many times, it takes some sort of tragedy to make a person understand his or her limitations.  Only then do they realize their need for divine rescue.

Rather, our strength comes directly from Him through our intimate connection and dependence on Him…minute by minute.

A Closer Look

First Corinthians 10:13 does not mean that we are capable, in and of ourselves, to weather any storm we might encounter.  God does not want to sit back and watch us take care of ourselves. He wants to supply our every need (Matthew 6:33).

He wants us to depend on Him for everything.  The apostle Paul said that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him (Philippians 4:13).  Paul looked to God to enable him to do everything, and he encourages us to do the same.

This verse is one more instance of the Bible reminding us that our strength comes directly from God. We are not strengthened by Him and then sent on our merry way to face the trials and difficulties life throws at us. God is not a motivational speaker.

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV).

Conclusion

If we see this verse, or any other verse in the Bible, as telling us that we have everything we need already inside us to handle every problem that comes along, we are misinterpreting the Word.

However, if we see this verse as telling us that no matter what trials or temptations assault us in this life, if we turn to God in dependence upon Him, He will supply the strength, wisdom, and way to endure them, then we have a correct understanding of the promise of God in this section of His Word. A promise on which we can rely.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV).

22 Bible Verses on Struggle

Resources – The Holy Bible, English Standard Version “Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Would you to get the daily question in your messenger? Just click the button below to get started.

as: 1 Corinthians, bible, God, Promises

Share this post: SU | Reddit | Digg |  | 

Источник: //www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/does-god-promise-that-he-will-not-give-us-more-than-we-can-handle/

4 Tips To Help You Achieve Your Goals in 2018

As we enter the goal setting season, I think it's important that when you set your goals, you give yourself the best chance of success. Especially when you look at the failure rates, according to Forbes 92 percent of people failing to reach their targets. Here are five goal setting tips that I have used which will help you to join the 8 percent of people who achieve their goals. 

Aim High, But Start Low, Celebrate and Keep Going

If you have read any of my previous articles, it will come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of setting big bold goals, and I think they are exciting and inspiring and can really help you to not only achieve but also exceed your full potential.  

But when setting big bold goals, it can be daunting in the early days, and the best way to counter this is to break down your big goal into a series of small goals. 

When I set the goal to run my first marathon in 6 months, my first goal was to run for just 15 minutes per run in the first week and then just increase the time I ran by five minutes per week for next two months.

Taking these small steps and then just increasing by comparatively small amounts put me in the position where, after 24 weeks, I was able to run for over 4-hours which then allowed me to be successful in achieving my big bold goal. 

When it comes to setting you big bold goal, the more you can slice that elephant the higher your probability of achieving it.

Don't Let Others Set The Goals For You

When you let others set your goals or modify them for you, this can have several damaging effects on your ability to achieve them.

First, it's now no longer your goal, and you have no sense of ownership or commitment to this new goal, as its now someone else's goal.

Second, people can look to make you more aggressive and look to set the goal to be bigger than you believe possible, and when you lack belief, this can cause you to quit at the first sign of difficulty.

If people want to be involved, then let them help you define how you will achieve the your goal, but don't let them set a new goal for you.

Be Clear What Success Looks Look

If you don't know what success looks , how will you know when you have achieved it. If you don't have a clear goal, then you cannot put a clear plan in place to achieve it. 

One of my clients was looking to increase their revenue by 50-100 percent in the upcoming year. They were very happy that they were setting a big bold goal, but the challenge is the plan to increase by 50 percent is not the same as the plan to increase by 100 percent.

Clear goals allow you to create clear plans, which increase your probability of success.

Understand Why This Goal Is Important

If you don't know why the goal is important to you, then it's just random. Understanding the why will give you a stronger sense of purpose, and this sense of purpose will keep you motivated during the difficult times. When you lack a sense of purpose if things do start to go awry, there is nothing stopping you from downgrading your goal and lowering the bar.

To achieve big bold goals, you need to be firm on the goal, but flexible on the approach, and having a strong why will help you keep your eyes on the prize and keep going in the tough times.

Track Your Performance

I'm a big believer in the adage what gets measured gets done, but I am an even bigger believer in the power of motivation. 

When we slice the elephant and know what the small interim goals are, as we start to achieve them, this will increase both belief in the approach and also confidence that success is achievable.  

When the going gets tough, it's great to hear that progress is being made. Sometimes when you have your head down and are charging towards the finishing line, it can be difficult to know just how close you are and hearing the progress can encourage you to make that final push to get over the line.

If you want to set your self a big bold goal, then to increase your chance of success, be clear about what success looks , make sure it's your goal and understand why it's important to you, break it down to small goals, track your performance and celebrate each small success. If you can do tht then you will signficantly increase your chance of being in that small group of 8 percent who achieve their goals.

Published on: Jan 3, 2018

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

Источник: //www.inc.com/gordon-tredgold/4-tips-to-help-you-achieve-your-goals-in-2018.html