(This post was written by Shannan Copland, Worship Administrative Assistant)

More Than I Bear…On Purpose?

You’ve heard it before, 1 Cor. 10:13 says, “He will not give you more than you can handle.” Right? Wait a second, here’s what it really says. “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is commonto man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptationwill provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

This verse says He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can bear. This verse is about temptation, not trials or suffering. With good intentions of course, so many times I have heard this verse misused for the sake of encouraging someone.

I read this on a blog site one day and a guy quoted this from a friend but didn’t reference his name. He wrote,

“It doesn’t imply that God won’t let you be stressed beyond what you can bear.
Or challenged beyond your ability.
Or pushed beyond your threshold.
In reality, God gives you more than you can bear all the time. On purpose.
It’s only when you can’t bear the load that the strength of Christ kicks in…
and He becomes everything you need and more.”

If we could handle all our burdens on our own, what do we need Christ for? I know I can’t handle them on my own. 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares for YOU.” Only with Christ can we handle the burdens of life. Only with Christ, because He is the only One who can help us carry them. If you are a follower of Christ you can stand in faith claiming, “The same power that conquered the grave lives in me!” (Romans 8:11)

 The past few years for me have made me understand that God truly does give us more than we can bear on purpose.  That is how our faith grows. That is how we come to realize how incredibly great He is in comparison to who we are. My faith has taken a huge leap the past few years and I would not take back any of the pain knowing how much closer I have grown to my Savior in the midst of it all. There are people around me that are going through a lot more than I can dare imagine.  But many of them, even in the scariest of times with only the help of Christ holding their hand along the way can look back and see blessings in the midst of the burdens. Hindsight is beautiful.

 This month at Faith Promise we are doing a series on faith called Updraft. When the trials come, remember what Pastor Chris said this past weekend, “Untested faith is an untrustworthy faith.”