Has this ever happened to you: You try something new/never done before and it’s something labeled as “Easy/Beginner” or your friends tell you, ‘it’s no problem—it’s easy! And you quickly find out that it is not so easy? Or you purchase something at Ikea that says- easy to assemble… In January when we went down to Florida to visit our son and his family we brought Christmas gifts. We gave our 4 yr. old granddaughter a Lego kit- which said 6 and up- I thought it would be good for her and her dad to do together. Well- She wanted Grandma to help her put it together! I thought- it’s for 6-year-olds, how hard could it be?!!! There were directions and we got started. She eventually took a nap and I kept working on it- about 3 hours later… tada!!! It was done! It was not easy for me. Even if the packaging says easy to assemble- beware!
Even with ’easy’ instructions- sometimes the advice can SOUND great it doesn’t mean it IS great. All the directions and advice SOUNDED good…But when push came to shove it was LACKING…
There will be a day when some well-meaning believer tries to help by stepping in and says to you; Not to worry everything is going to be okay because God will never give you more than you can handle. Sounds nice, the problem is that it is NOT TRUE… Scripture never says that anywhere.
The passage that leads to the misconception that “God will never give you more than you can handle is found in 1 Corinthians 10:13. “ No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.”
Paul encourages us to remember God is faithful. That He will not tempt us to sin. God never sinned and He will not tempt us to sin. But He will allow temptations to come to us so that we can develop perseverance and grow our faith in Him. This reference is a reference to sin, not a promise to relieve us of our heavy burdens. So why be a Christian if our life won’t be any different? I’m not saying that there is no hope or help- I’m not saying that each day will be a terrible drag and burden.
Following Christ is amazing! Following Jesus is spectacular and supernatural! But it’s not always easy… Here’s a hard truth we need to grab hold of: God will absolutely give you MORE than you can HANDLE. He does this so that we will turn to Him and seek Him and give Him our burdens.
I want to use the truth of this passage to unpack the lie hurting so many people. The truth is that Life is often more than we can bear. Here are three ideas that will help us unpack this hurtful lie.
1. Human Suffering is UNIVERSAL. John 16:33 We will all experience hardship and suffering. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are. Everyone at one time or another has or will experience hardship. Often there is a powerful lesson we can learn from our experience. Listen to the advice of some kids I read about who experienced trouble and learned from it:
• “Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time.” (Sara- Age 9)
• “Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.” (Lauren- Age 9)
• “Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat.” (Joel- Age 10)
• “Never try to baptize a cat.” (Eileen- Age 8)
We all have experienced suffering! Sometimes it is self-inflicted like these kids! For some of us we are experiencing suffering because of the consequences of addiction- and unhealthy lifestyles. The fact is our lives are all affected by hardship. As much as I wish this Christianity thing gave us a free pass from that brokenness it’s just not the case.
God doesn’t cause all this… I don’t have all the theological answers, but I’ve learned and recognize that we are living in a broken, fallen world. Much of the suffering is a result of the consequences of sin in our world. Think of it like the nuclear fallout after an atomic bomb. -We are suffering from the fallout of the fall. Just as a person who smokes 2 packs a day for 20 years probably shouldn’t blame God when they get lung cancer. Humanity is living broken lives in a broken place and then we want to blame God when broken things happen.
2. God is FAITHFUL. God not giving us more than we can handle strikes a tone of fairness we instinctually like. We love the idea of the scales being in balance, but there is a glaring problem with this idea: Life isn’t fair…and thank goodness God isn’t fair either. He does not deal with us as our sins deserve. Instead, God is longsuffering and patient. He is gracious and abounding in love. God isn’t fair and our salvation depends on that. We are enjoying His grace and love- let’s not suddenly ask Him to make life fair or we are all in a lot of trouble.
3. You are NOT ALONE. God’s design for life is based on COMMUNITY. -Both with Him through redemption and forgiveness and with each other; living in community and friendship. Community provides three things that we all need: -Truth, Accountability, and Identity.
Suffering is universal…Trials come in all shapes and sizes. Overwhelming suffering WILL come our way because we live in a broken world with broken people. Remember this truth: God will absolutely give you more than you can handle but it will never be more than HE can handle.
