The Struggles Of Life
Southaven, Ms
By: Mike Upchurch
Occasionally I will hear people attempt to quote the Bible to comfort or encourage people when that person is going through an ordeal. They certainly mean well, and are attempting to bring hope. They will say something like this…
“You know, God will never put more on you than you can handle.”
Unfortunately, that verse doesn’t exist in the Bible.
The only scriptures that come close are found in 1 Corinthians. Let’s examine those verses…..
“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.”1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT
Paul is discussing being tempted by sin, not enduring trials or tragedy. Examining the passage in context, in the verses prior he was speaking of the children of Israel succumbing to sin and as a result, thousands perished! He is simply informing the Church, and us, that there will always be a way out when we’re tempted, and that He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist. There will always be the ability to say no to sin.
But as to ordeals or struggles or tragedy in our lives, the truth is sometimes life IS more than we can handle. But perhaps He has allowed those things to occur because we have strayed away a bit, and those trials will motivate us to turn back to Him and seek Him. When we are at the end of our rope, we are to turn to HIM for comfort and help. Or perhaps we’ve faithfully served the Lord all our days, yet we too have experienced what is common to man, such as tragedy or disease. We need the Lord more than ever in those situations to give us wisdom and strength! If we could handle all our problems, and if we could endure life’s tragedies on our own, then we wouldn’t ever need Him. Some would never cry out to Him. Some would never seek Him if there weren’t situations where they couldn’t cope. Paul certainly knew the power found in Him when he could no longer endure…
“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us.”2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT
Paul knew first hand he couldn’t handle the burden he was under and he had expected to die! But he also had hope in the Lord! And that is our hope too; that He WILL be there and that He WILL deliver us.
Let us always be mindful that He is instantly there for us when life is more than we can bear. No matter what we face, He will be there in every situation bringing comfort and peace we cannot manufacture on our own. He is there to rescue us and deliver us through every trial of life!
Don’t try to be a hero or a martyr and “go it alone”. Don’t try to cope by turning to drugs or alcohol or other escapes. Turn to Him and surrender! There is comfort in the Lord! There is strength! There is peace! There is tomorrow! Look at King David’s words…..
“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.”Psalms 30:5
You’ll find that joy indeed comes in the morning no matter what you’re facing when you are trusting Him!
And that’s the way I see it!
Pastor Mike
