Many people hear this verse and think that it means that God will not give them something unless he thinks they can "bear" it.
While it is true that God knows you better than you know yourself this statement in Corinthians could be interpreted in more than one way.
"More Than You Can Bear"
Many scholars have pointed out that this verse pertains to temptations, and not situations. In other words God does not give you more temptation than you can bear. While it might seem like this is not the case a lot of times there is a point. The point is,
The Holy Spirit at work inside you is greater than the evil outside you.
If you look to the past millions of humans have overcome a lot of temptation and destructive
behavior. It seems God is telling you that you can do thatalso, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
From stockxchange.comBut, does God give you more than you can bear? If the Holy Spirit in you is greater than the evil outside you it sounds like you should be able to bear it. On the other hand Jesus also said,
In this world you will have great troubles. But don't let it get to you. I have overcome the world.
- Gospel Of John 16:33
This sounds to the author like he is saying you will have trouble in this world, including temptations. However, the Holy Spirit is at work inside you and Jesus triumphed over evil with the Resurrection.What does this mean? It means you can triumph over your temptations with his help. It does NOT mean that it will be easy.
Indeed the Bible does not lead the reader astray to think that life for a believer will be without trouble.
What Can You Bear?
God knows what you can bear better than you do. Since he has eternity on his mind there is a "different agenda", so to speak. God knows your priorities for eternity while you only know what is going on around you or what you try to interpret.
Sometimes the lesson to learn isn't clear until many years later. As someone who has had a spiritual awakening it took losing a lot first. At the time there was doubt there was a God who cared. Looking back years later it makes a lot more sense from a spiritual perspective. Back them it seemed more than what was bearable.
At the beginning of the post the quote begins with the words "God is faithful." In the author's opinion this can be interpreted to mean that speaking of what you can bear is not in vain. In other words God will allow you to bear only what is necessary for your long term well being. This is the case if the quote above is interpreted as temptations or situations.
From this perspective some things that appear to be difficult can seem more "bearable." God does not want for you to suffer just for the sake of suffering, and this is an important point.
Does God give you more than you can bear?
You might also be interested in:
The Holy Spirit And The Overcoming Life
The Meaning Of An Easy Life
Author: Albert Wagner
