Limits to Temptation I Corinthians 10:13

"God is faithful, who will not let you to be tempted above that which you are able."



God knows what is going on in our lives. He knows our thoughts and He knows the temptations that we will be faced with. In Genesis 20, Abraham is going through a foreign nation and he tells Sarah, his wife, to tell the people there that she is his sister and not his wife, fearing that they will kill him to have her. This is an amazing story in and of itself, seeing that she is in her late 90's!

Abimelech, who is king sends for her to take her as his wife and God appears to him in a dream warning him of the consequences of those actions. Abimelech tells God that he was told that she was his sister and that he had no intention of taking a married woman. God acknowledged the situation and Abimelech returned her to Abraham. Listen to what God told Abimelech in verse 6, "I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her."

Two things took place here. First of all, God protected His anointed, Sarah, even though she and Abraham were deceptive and did not trust God as they should have done. This is the second time that Abraham had pulled this stunt and in both cases, God had just promised Abraham that He would deliver Abraham and make him the father of many nations. Sarah was simply doing as her husband had instructed her to do. God protected her.

God also limited Abimelech's reach to sin against God. God protected this pagan king from death. Because God is in complete control of all that takes place and because God is not only creator but in Him all life finds its sustenance, He is uniquely aware of everything that goes on and He is in complete control of everything that takes place in this life. God knows everything that is taking place and in His omnipotence He is able to set limits as to the extent of our decisions by controlling our circumstances without controlling our wills.

God will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to withstand. His presence in our hearts and His Word in our minds are there to lead us and guide us to make the right decisions in every matter that we will ever face. However, there may be times when our intention is to set God's Word aside and do things our way in spite of His Way. God will at times limit our circumstances to keep us from sinning against Him to the point that His greater purpose for lives is thwarted.



Our God is a great, loving God Who will do whatever it takes to make our lives what He would like for them to be! What a great God we serve!