God Didn't Say That: God Won't Put Too Much on You!


I hear it often from people who are going through terrible grief.  "The Bible says, 'God will never put more on you than you can stand.'"  

Many times, what people are really saying is, "This is more than I can stand!  What is God doing?"

I usually don't "correct" people at such times.  Instead, I try to assure them of God's presence with them in their suffering.  But the truth is, the Bible never says, "God will never put more on you than you can stand."

The closest the Bible comes to that is 1 Corinthians 10:11-13.  In this passage, Paul was talking about temptation.  He said that God doesn't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can resist.  "The Devil made me do it!" isn't true!  Paul says that when we're tempted, God always provides a means to escape.  While temptation and testing are similar, they aren't the same. 

The Bible gives lots of examples of people who experienced more than they could stand.  One of the most prominent is Job.  When you read passages like Job 3:20-26; 7:1-6, you see the words of a man who experienced more than he could stand!  He struggles with pain and loss, and wonders out loud what in the world God is doing!

Another example is the apostle Paul and his "thorn in the flesh."  In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Paul described an affliction that was painful and possibly humiliating.  It was so terrible, he prayed to God three times for him to remove it.  These weren't casual times of prayer.  They were intense, impassioned pleas to God for help.  

Though Paul was a good man who did God's work, God refused.  God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  

These words suggest that though God puts more on us than we can stand, he gives us power to face it.  When we're in the pit of suffering, we can experience God's power.  

When we're overwhelmed and weak, we're at our strongest because we have to rely on God's power.  When we seek God's power through his Spirit and through the support of our fellow Christ followers, we can say with Paul, "When I am weak, then I am strong!"

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