"God won't give you more than you can bear." We've all heard this before and it sounds all spiritual, but it's not really...in the way that people usually use it in response to some physical, emotional or mental struggle. I read a blog today that lamented this phrase because of a tough thing that the writer had gone through...they called it a "nice sentiment", it's not a sentiment...it's a misquoted Scripture and like all misunderstood/misquoted Scripture, it's dangerous if you act on it because you are acting on air.
The origin: The idea seems to come from 1 Corinthians 10:13 "...And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear..." (1 Cor 10:13) which means there's nothing that anyone ever faces in being tempted to sin that hasn't been seen before, and that every time you are tempted to sin, you have a choice not to...as a Christian. It says nothing about physical, mental, or emotional struggle. It means that when presented with a choice to do what God says or not do what God says, as a Christian, there's never a time where you can say "It was just out of my hands, I had no choice." There is no urge, desire, or mitigating loophole that takes sin's choice out of your hands. Every time you are tempted to do wrong, you can choose not to, as a follower of Christ.
The danger: If someone thinks that God won't give them what they can't bear, then people think, when they blow it, that God is against them or God isn't really in control or God lied or something's wrong with them or junk like that. The reality is that people have died following Christ...they obviously couldn't "handle" that physically.
The action: Please stop saying that phrase, if it's your "go-to" when things get bad for someone...in fact, God will sometimes, give you more than you can bear, so that you will turn to Him and follow Him, rather than just rely on yourself unsuccessfully...read the Psalms..no, turn off the "Chill Jazz" and the Lava Lamp and read them...David is not in a "I'm cool, I've got this" mode a lot of the time. He's in places where he absolutely CAN'T handle LIFE well. He's in the "God if you don't show up, I"m done for" mode...but he demonstrates that he knows who he needs to come to for strength, help and sustenance when he finds himself in that situation...to God.
Sometimes, you can't handle stuff and that's fine, because God can and He really does have it under control...that's the point. For someone who places God first, God will help you, God will be there for you, God can heal you, God can sustain you through it, God honors those who honor Him...all these things are true for those who place God as the first priority in their life...
The action: Please stop saying that phrase, if it's your "go-to" when things get bad for someone...in fact, God will sometimes, give you more than you can bear, so that you will turn to Him and follow Him, rather than just rely on yourself unsuccessfully...read the Psalms..no, turn off the "Chill Jazz" and the Lava Lamp and read them...David is not in a "I'm cool, I've got this" mode a lot of the time. He's in places where he absolutely CAN'T handle LIFE well. He's in the "God if you don't show up, I"m done for" mode...but he demonstrates that he knows who he needs to come to for strength, help and sustenance when he finds himself in that situation...to God.
Sometimes, you can't handle stuff and that's fine, because God can and He really does have it under control...that's the point. For someone who places God first, God will help you, God will be there for you, God can heal you, God can sustain you through it, God honors those who honor Him...all these things are true for those who place God as the first priority in their life...
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