Will God Give You More Than You Can Bear?

Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

You have probably heard many well-meaning people say, "God will not give you more than you can bear." But, have you ever seen it in the Bible? First Corinthians 10:13 comes close when it says: 

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up   under it. (Emphasis added)

This is the only Biblical reference to God not giving us more than we can bear, and in context, it is talking about temptation. "God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." Its talking about sin. If youre tempted to sin, God will always provide a "way of escape," so it won't crush you. In that way, He won't give you more than you can bear.

So where does that leave us? Does that mean God will give us other burdens that we cant bear? Jesus said in John 16:33, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Yes, you will have tribulation. Our lives are full of cares, concerns, worries, burdens, trials and tribulations. Good people and bad people, Christians, Atheists, Buddhists, everyone on earth will face very real, very difficult circumstances in life. The question is not, "Are we going to face tribulation?" Rather, "What do we do with the tribulations we face?"

What to do with burdens
It may be more accurate to change the wording of the old adage into, God will not give you more than He can bear. There are many things in this life too difficult for us to bear, and God never intended that we should try to carry the burdens on our own. He wants to take all of those things that weigh on our hearts and give us His peace instead. Jesus said:

Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke [is] easy and My burden is light. (Mat 11:28-30)

The first thing we need to do is give up control. When we come to Him with our burdens, we have to be willing to take His yoke instead. This means He is in the driver's seat, and you are submitting to Him and trusting His leadership. Were often worried about things we have no control over anyway, so why not let go, and let God handle it? We need to recognize that we dont always know whats best for us, and God has a much better idea of what we need -- and He wants to bless us! So give up your right to control those burdens and receive the rest that comes from submitting to the Lords gentle leading.

Once you have given up control, the next step is to give over the burden. First Peter 5:7 says, Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Similarly, Psalm 55:22 states, Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you. When you give over the burden, the action is to cast it on the Lord. We dont open our hand and expect Him to take it from us, nor do we hold on and expect God to wrestle us to gain control. We should cast it far from us; throw it like a baseball; launch it as a grenade; lob it over to the One who cares for us. If you want God's help you have to let him have the issue. You don't get to take it back. You must trust God enough to give it to Him completely.

How can you be expected to give up control and give over your burden to someone you don't know? The last step of dealing with our burdens could also be the first; we must give in to the One who loves us. We often don't want to give our burdens to God because, honestly, we don't trust Him. We think He's not going to come through for us. Or we think we are the problem, and that God won't help us because were not good enough. Or we don't think God actually loves us enough to intervene in our lives. We need to know the truth about how much God loves us, and then give in to that love. Many times this starts with believing what the Bible says about the love of God. Once we get our minds on the right track, our hearts will accept that truth and be able to fully trust in Gods goodness, faithfulness and love. Like Mary who sat at Jesus feet, we need to spend time in Gods presence and learn who He is. Then well be able to cast our cares on Him, because we will know that He is concerned about us. As the prophet Zephaniah reminds us, The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing (Zeph 3:17).

Battling cancer is one of the most difficult things anyone could go through in life. If you or someone you love is in the midst of this battle, you know how many things can cause you to be weighed down, weary, burdened, and anxious. But we are in good hands; God has the strength to bear all of our burdens, and He wants to free us from that weight. So today, give up control, give over your burden, and give in to Gods love for you.

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