Have you heard or maybe even said this?
"God will never give you more than you can bear."
I'm sure I have said it to many people, trying to encourage them. I know that I have had many say it to me, especially when they find out I have 10 kids. But, others have said it to me as encouragement. For years I wondered where that phrase was in scripture. I had never read it, but that doesn't mean it isn't in there. The scripture that I think that phrase came from is 1 Corinthians 10:13.
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (NIV)
This doesn't say that God will not give more than we can bear, it ways that he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear.
I have decided that life is more than I can bear. If you have been a believer very long, you know what I mean. There is too much that happens in our life that we just can't handle on our own. I try to handle it on my own & every time I fail & make a big mess of things. We must depend on God for our strength & wisdom to bear life.
6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The parts of life that we find imbearable are often tests that God has brought our way to purify our faith, or perfect our character(James 1:2-4) or to keep us from sin (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). But most of the time, we don't see it that way. Or maybe you have been at this for so long and you are just really tired of the "purifying" and you are tempted to just give in & do things the worlds way. I have been there too many times.
When we are faced with difficulties we are tempted to to deal with our problems in a fleshly manner, not by the spirit. We must learn to distinguish between temptations & trials. Here are a few points that Warren Wiersbe points out in one of his Ole Testament "Be" Series, "Be Obediant"
Temptations come from the fleshly desires within us while trials come from the Lord who has a purpose to fulfill. (James 1:12-16)
Temptations are used by the Devil to bring out the worst in us, while trials are used by the Holy Spirit to bring out the best in us.
Temptations seem logical while trials seem very unreasonable. Why did God give Abraham a son & then ask him to kill him? (Genesis 22)
Life is hard. Get over it! Does that sound harsh? That is what Paul preached all the time. But the best part is that he also preached how to get over it. Life and all that it entails is not going away. As long as I live I will have difficulties. But the Word has equipped me to not just endure the hard times, but to be strengthened by them so that I can live joyously through them. We also need to know that God will never allow a test that we are not ready for. He won't ever say, Oops! I didn't mean for Dana to go through that yet!" If that happened, he would not be sovereign.
Look back up to 1 Corinthians 10:13. Paul also tells them that God is faithful & He will provide a way out so that we can stand up under it. He is Jehovah-Jireh, he will see to it that when we are in the midst of a trial or temptation, he will provide a way to endure it.
His grace is sufficient
He will bear our burdens
He is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.
Life is more than I can bear - but He is able.
Is your faith being tested? We are in the midst of the most difficult economic tragedies that our generation has experienced. Job loss & foreclosure is just a part of the everyday news now. It has hit everyone. As a believer, how have you responded to the difficulties in your life? Are you complaining & asking God "why", or are you reading His Word, and asking God, "What can I learn from this that will make me look more like you?"
Faith does not demand explanations, faith rests on His promises. - Warren Wiersbe
1 comment:
Thank you for that--I have been frustrated for a long time that I constantly hear people try to tell each other "God says He won't give you more than you can handle." As you said, the Bible not only doesn't say that, but in fact it shows a pattern of the very opposite. He gives us more than we can handle every day of our lives. He doesn't give us more than HE can handle in and through us--so that He is glorified. And furthermore, God doesn't "believe in you" either--as I so often hear. He knows we are dust, and asks us to believe in Him. Thank you for exposing another of the ways the world's "wisdom" has slithered into the church, deceiving believers and stealing the glory from our great God!
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