No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13, LSB
A common adage is, “God will not give you more than you can handle.” Often, 1 Corinthians 10:13 is used to justify this as a biblical principle, but that is not what Scripture says. We will be tempted; this is true; Jesus was tempted. Yet, God always provides for our protection and gives us a way to escape any and all temptation. It isn’t God who tempts, however. Temptation is around us always, but so is God. Our Lord is continually calling us to Himself, and He provides us a means to leave temptation behind; sometimes, this is a friend, but He uses all means to help us if we are willing to take the opportunity. God could compel us away from all sin, but He allows us to decide whether we will submit our will to Him or whether we will submit our will to temptation. Our choice is in our submission. When we act out of our fallen nature, sin is natural. When we are submissive to God’s authority in our lives, we are binding our will to the will of God, who has called us to Himself. This is our escape as He draws us to Himself and away from those things that will only rob us of life. As Moses said to the Israelites in his final speech in Deuteronomy, we can choose life or death by either submitting and being faithful to God or seeking after our sinful desires and choosing the ways of the world. Let us all choose life.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.