“God will never put more on us than what we can bear.” How many times have you said this to someone who suffered a loss? How many times have you written, texted, emailed this to someone who lost their job, their home, or their marriage? I would love to know where God tells us this in the scriptures. It’s not there. But it is a phrase that we all quote, most often when we are trying to comfort someone. I’ve said it many times myself; I even made a video preaching this very quote. It wasn’t until I came across the scripture that this quote derived from that I realized that we’ve had it wrong this entire time. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: No temptation has overtaken you except 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 also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. In this chapter, Paul is talking to the church at Corinth about not making the same mistakes as their ancestors did in the Old Testament. In this particular verse, he tells them that the temptations they face are no different than what others face, and that God will always show them a way out so that they can endure. So you see, this verse is not talking about suffering nor trials and tribulations. (That is another subject I’ll talk about on another post)
While it may be comforting to think that God would never allow us to go through anything that He knows we cannot handle, it is not the truth. The truth is, we will endure pain, we will endure troubles, we will endure suffering that we will not be able to bear. ALONE. If we could bear it alone why would we need to lean on Him for comfort? Why would we need to call on the name Jesus? Why would we need to look to His Word for understanding? It is my understanding that God allows us to suffer for two reasons: to produce perseverance and character in us (Romans 5: 3-4; James 1:2-4 NLT) and to bring Him glory (1Peter 4:19; Isaiah 48:10 NLT). (Then there’s that stuff we bring on ourselves. Later post though!)
Our suffering also makes us lean on Him for strength. Do you know anyone who seems to never talk about or even acknowledge God until something goes wrong in their lives? Well it is because even they know that they cannot handle it on their own. I can say from experience that it was during my suffering and seasons of brokenness that truly made me call on the Lord. When I think back on some of my hardest trials, I know there’s NO way I could have got through it if I tried to bear them on my own.
I think sometimes we say things that we intentionally mean for good. Sometimes we believe we are quoting scripture, but all we’re doing is passing on quotes that sound good. The best thing we can do when trying to comfort someone is to point them in the direction of the Lord. There’s going to be many things that come up in our lives which are much BIGGER than us but nothing is too big for the Lord. He wants us to call on Him; he wants the glory out of our lives. If we could handle this world ourselves, Christ wouldn’t have needed to die for us. If we could handle the world ourselves, He never would have sent the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and counsel us. I could go on for pages on this particular subject as I write from personal experiences, but I will end it here with a prayer.
Lord, I thank You for knowing that I cannot bear the trials of this world on my own. And I thank You for knowing that I cannot overcome the sin of this world on my own. So You sent your Son, Your Word made Flesh, to bear it all for me and to suffer and die for my sins. I am not worthy, yet You chose me. For that, I am eternally grateful. In Jesus name. Amen.
Love, Mizz K ♥
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Love, Mizz K ♥ 