October 30, 2023 MORE THAN WE CAN BEAR
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape, also that you may be able to endure it.”
2 Corinthians 1:9 “indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
We often hear it said that ‘God will not put more on you than you can bear.’ I have said the same thing. However, believing that God will not put more on us than we can bear is a great misunderstanding of the gospel. The misunderstanding comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where we see the phrase ‘who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.’ That verse is about temptation; God says that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond a point that we cannot escape or endure the temptation. We see the contrast in 2 Corinthians 1:9: Paul and his companion had the ‘sentence of death’ within them-they though they would die. God will allow trials to come and we may feel that there is no way out and we feel we cannot bear what we are facing-we feel the sentence of death. God takes no pleasure in seeing His people suffer, but He will allow things we cannot bear to come our way. Here is the point we must not miss; God allows the unbearable for a purpose. We tend to think we can handle the situation, we can deal with, we can fight our way out, we can survive-and that is where we err. God is showing us that it is useless to trust in ourselves-our best effort. In the deepest, darkest hours; when there seems to be no way out, God tells us not to trust in ourselves, but to trust in Him who raises the dead. We may feel as good as dead and hopeless, but God raises us from that death as well. So, in the midst of the unbearable burdens, let us yield our lives to Him and trust that He will sustain us and lead us to life. As I think about this, I realize how flippant it is to tell someone who has just lost a loved one or who is experiencing a really difficult time ‘that God will not put more on them than they cay bear.’ There is no comfort in that. What we should say is that we understand having a sentence of death and seeing no way out-but encourage them not to trust in themselves, but trust in God for His comfort, strength, and deliverance. There is comfort in that. We can be alive physically, but feel dead emotionally and spiritually, but when we put our trust in Him, He raises us up-even in the midst of the trial.
Psalms 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He bought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”
Blessings, Buddy
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape, also that you may be able to endure it.”
2 Corinthians 1:9 “indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
We often hear it said that ‘God will not put more on you than you can bear.’ I have said the same thing. However, believing that God will not put more on us than we can bear is a great misunderstanding of the gospel. The misunderstanding comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where we see the phrase ‘who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.’ That verse is about temptation; God says that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond a point that we cannot escape or endure the temptation. We see the contrast in 2 Corinthians 1:9: Paul and his companion had the ‘sentence of death’ within them-they though they would die. God will allow trials to come and we may feel that there is no way out and we feel we cannot bear what we are facing-we feel the sentence of death. God takes no pleasure in seeing His people suffer, but He will allow things we cannot bear to come our way. Here is the point we must not miss; God allows the unbearable for a purpose. We tend to think we can handle the situation, we can deal with, we can fight our way out, we can survive-and that is where we err. God is showing us that it is useless to trust in ourselves-our best effort. In the deepest, darkest hours; when there seems to be no way out, God tells us not to trust in ourselves, but to trust in Him who raises the dead. We may feel as good as dead and hopeless, but God raises us from that death as well. So, in the midst of the unbearable burdens, let us yield our lives to Him and trust that He will sustain us and lead us to life. As I think about this, I realize how flippant it is to tell someone who has just lost a loved one or who is experiencing a really difficult time ‘that God will not put more on them than they cay bear.’ There is no comfort in that. What we should say is that we understand having a sentence of death and seeing no way out-but encourage them not to trust in themselves, but trust in God for His comfort, strength, and deliverance. There is comfort in that. We can be alive physically, but feel dead emotionally and spiritually, but when we put our trust in Him, He raises us up-even in the midst of the trial.
Psalms 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He bought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”
Blessings, Buddy
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