Have you ever told a lie?
We all know that “do not lie” is a part of the big 10 - the 10 commandments. Specifically, the ninth commandment found in Exodus 20:16 commands, “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.” We know that lying is forbidden by God, but, if we’re honest for a moment, we have all lied.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve discovered two dangers with the lies I’ve told.
First, I’ve discovered that when I tell a lie (to someone else or myself), I stand at a crossroads. If I don’t confess or abandon the lie, I make an immediate shift from telling a lie to living that lie. When I continue in a lie, it shifts from being something I say into something I live.
Second, I’ve discovered the truth behind the words of Richard Bach. “The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves.” As I mentioned above, we may lie to others, but I think more often than not, the person we lie to the most is ourselves. Often, the lies I tell myself are motivated by the same purpose for the lies I tell others. I lie to them to make them feel better and I lie to myself to make myself feel better.
One of the most common lies I hear people tell in the church is “I know that God won’t give me more than I can handle.” While pervasive, this statement is not only absent from the 66 books of the Bible. It is also counter to what is in the Bible.
In 2 Corinthians 1, the Apostle Paul shared about his experience following Jesus:
“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”
The goal of following Jesus is to stop relying on ourselves and learn to rely only on God. If God didn’t give us more than we could handle, we would continue in self-reliance, trusting Jesus for our eternal security but never depending on the Holy Spirit for our daily strength and provision. We wouldn’t need a Protector and Conqueror because God would never give us anything more than we could handle on our own. When we tell ourselves the lie “God won’t give me more than I can handle,” we miss out on the Spirit-filled life and we merely experience a self-sustained life.
The lie “God won’t give me more than I can handle” is a twisted misrepresentation of a Bible verse. In 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, Paul again speaks directly and powerfully. “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 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.”
God is our Protector and Conqueror, especially when it comes to temptation. James 1:13-14 reminds us that He is not the source of our temptation. “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, ‘God is tempting me.’ God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.”
Our temptation comes from our own desires. We read in the first chapter of the book of Job that God allows our enemy, Satan, to tempt us. But, we read about God setting the limits of those temptations in Job 1 and we read in 1 Corinthians 10 that God is faithful to make sure we can withstand and even find a way out amidst the temptation.
God is our Protector and Conqueror. He is greater than any temptation that comes our way and in His love and wisdom, He allows us to experience temptation without abandoning us to it. He is faithful even as we struggle with temptation.
Just as the disciples questioned the plans and faithfulness of Jesus as He was arrested, went to the cross, and was killed, we question the plans and faithfulness of God when events around us feel overwhelming and the temptation we’re facing feels crushing.
However, the truth is God is at work in those circumstances. As we rely on Him and as we look to Him for a way to endure temptation without sinning, we find God’s character to be steadfast and faithful. He is who He has always been. He protects us from temptation beyond what we can bear. He conquers day-by-day the obstacles that are beyond our ability to handle.
Pat Barrett sings about this kind of dependence on our Protector and Conqueror in his song, "Morning by Morning."
The truth about God’s love and care for us is better than any of the lies or myths we’ve heard along the way. He gives us more than we can handle on our own, but nothing that we cannot overcome through dependence and reliance on His strength. He allows fierce temptation to come our way, but nothing that we cannot withstand and there will always be a way out.
Today, we’re invited out of the darkness and lies into the light and truth of God’s mercy and grace. That’s really good news!
Scott Savage is a pastor and a writer who helps you laugh, challenges you to think, and invites you to grow. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona. Scott is married to Dani and they are the parents of three “little savages.” He helps hurting people forgive others through his Free to Forgive course and you can read more of his writing at scottsavagelive.com.
