is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
II Corinthians 12:9
At her funeral, many "well-meaning" friends patted our hands and told us, "Remember, God won't put more on you than you can bear". And as the pretty little pink velvet-covered casket was lowered into the vault that cold November day, the preacher put his arm around my husband and me and tried to console us with, "God won't put more on you than you can bear."
A son, reeling from drug use, too intoxicated to fully understand what was going on around him, sat by the side of his mother's bed as she lay dying. He spewed vile profanities at God and other family members. His aunt tried to quiet him with, "God won't put more on you than you can bear."
Five members of a family were killed in a traffic accident--the only surviving member was horribly burned and died several weeks later. During my visits in their home as the grandparents tried to put their lives back together in some semblance of tolerable reality, I heard that term repeatedly used: "God won't put more on you than you can bear."
I repeat, it is NOT in the Bible. Yet people go about, foolishly parroting a scripture they don't even know correctly, and all it does is cause confusion. "Confusion?" you ask. Yes! A lot of confusion.
When our daughter was born with her vast array of medical problems, my husband and I went through the natural defenses of trying to find the cause(s). There was no history of such things in either of our families. We had not taken drugs or engaged in dangerous activities before or during the pregnancy, alcohol was not a factor at all, nor exposure to disease(s). We loved God. We went to church. We lived good lives. So it was very confusing to us, as young Christians, to realize things could be worse, 'cause God would not put more on us we could not bear.
Well, things got worse. Our daughter died, yet still we heard, "God won't put more on you than you can bear." So either we were not saved, or there was sin in our lives that we were not admitting. At least, that was the pronounced slant given to us when we were reminded that God would not put more on us than we could bear. The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 14:33 that God is NOT the author of confusion.
Now, so it cannot be claimed that I have set my own definition on this scripture, let's do a comparison of two other Bible versions there on I Corinthians 10:13, specifically.
First, the New International Version: "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."
Now, the Living Bible: "But remember this--the wrong desires that come into your life aren't anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation's power so that you can bear up patiently against it."
Now let me back that up with another Biblical FACT: God does NOT tempt mankind. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. James 1:13.
We are going to be confronted with problems/situations that we don't know how to cope with. It may be in the form of physical sickness, financial failures, emotional turmoil or devastating loss. There may be those times during which you feel that God is further away than the most distant star. You may have a desert experience, barren and dry, or you may go through a deep dark, lonesome valley.
I want you to understand one thing: you are in this place for a reason. God wants you to learn something from it. And if you will cling to your faith in Him, you will emerge stronger than ever before!
Of course! The Word of God is full of comfort for us, to us. We do have to get between the covers of that Grand Old Book, The Holy Bible, to find them though. And a good place to start is in the twelfth chapter of II Corinthians. Paul, a great man of God, very clearly explains, by his own personal example, that God's Grace is sufficient. In this chapter we read:
For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. II Corinthians 12:6-10.Did you see it in there? The Lord said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee..." Paul said to us, "...for when I am weak, then am I strong." What????
Therein lies the entire problem. We want to be strong in and of ourselves. But if our strength does not come from God, it will not sustain us, for it will not be sufficient to meet our need.
People have a real problem with being humble. I'm not talking about morose or melancholy or whiney--I'm not talking about a false or pretend sense of humbleness--of being pious to get others to reassure us of how "great we really are". I'm talking about the realization of exactly how limited we are, in and of ourselves.
I can't save, I can't heal, I can't forgive sin, I can't remove hurts and horrors from the lives of people. So why should I try to be something I'm not? I will only fail and wound those who expected it of me and my pseudo-greatness, if I try to be somebody or something I'm not. I am perfectly happy letting Jesus Christ be EVERYTHING, 'cause you see, HE can back up everything He says. He IS the authority. And He gives us authority THROUGH HIM: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13. It doesn't say, "I can do things..." and then stops there. It doesn't say, "I can do some things...". It says, very simply, very plainly, in any version of The Bible, "I can do ALL* things through..." (*NOTE: some versions use the word "everything" which still means "all").
And just how do "we" do all things? Through JESUS CHRIST. Why? Because His Grace is sufficient. And we can further back that up with: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. II Corinthians 1:20. "Yea and Amen" translated: "Yes and so be it!"
He is an ever-present help in time of need and you can stand on the direct promises He has given to mankind through His Word. He will never fail you. These scriptures are clear and direct promises that you can depend on. NOTE: They are by no means all the scriptures of comfort and everlasting promise that are in the Bible.
And if you want to be truly encouraging to someone? Offer the strength of God's promises to them. Then, the next time you feel as if God is not close to you, or you see someone who needs a lift, you can stand on, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90:1,2.
"More Than We Can Bear?" Copyright © 2000 by Patricia Sikes.
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