13b But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.
When God’s children are faced with temptations and trials, they can be assured that God is faithful to them. This is the greatest and the best source of help and safety that they can have in such times of despair. In Psalm 89:33, the Lord says, “Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.” God’s faithfulness to His people is flawless and abiding.
His faithfulness to His people is very great. Lamentations 3:23 declares, “great is thy faithfulness.” The psalmist extols, “thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds” (Psalm 36:5). It has been a recurring theme in the apostle Paul’s epistles that God is faithful to all whom He has called (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 2:13). He is also faithful to keep all His covenantal promises to us. Deuteronomy 7:9 exhorts us, “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations”.
In the midst of our temptations and trials, if we look only to ourselves, we will fail. But if we depend on the faithfulness of our God, we will be secure. This is not to say that we do not have to make any effort on our own to resist the temptations that assault us, but rather that we can trust Him to be faithful to help us in our efforts to overcome them. If at any time we err in our conduct, we should immediately repent and confess our sins, for “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Because God is faithful, we are assured that He “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able”. He will never place us where we cannot overcome temptations of sin. Let us not doubt His faithfulness and yield to temptations. Let us believe in His assurances and resist our temptations. Even when difficulties increase and we see no light at the end of the tunnel, let us trust that He “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able”. The Lord will not abandon us to our ruthless foe, the devil. If temptations and trials abound, be not dismayed. No servant of Christ had ever been steered to heaven without being often tempted and threatened by the enemy. So, fear not; but resist to the uttermost!