He won’t give you more than you can bear!

A few weeks ago, after we lost the brother I follow, I heard my mother in her room weep and groan immensely and deeply, saying, “why me Lord?”

You see, I may know what it feels like losing a father and a brother. But I don’t know what it feels like losing a spouse and a first born child (or any child whatsoever). Words can’t express how painful she sounded. I felt so, so cold and teary when I heard her. She sounded like she was pulling hair out of her head, and renting her clothes in agony.

One Sunday, the second of July, some members from the anglican mothers’ union came to condole us, and she told them what I heard her venting that night; and within me, I heard a whisper from God.

He said, “I will not give you more than you can bear.”

As He always does, He went silent again, but, keeping my heart and mind on what He had just said, causing me to meditate upon it for the next couple of days. . .

In life, we have to understand that at some point we won’t be on the center stage of good, but something bad. This is not because we are bad people. Rather, it’s because we have a common enemy, who seeks to steal, kill and destroy. The bad happening to you could be a stealing, a killing or a destroying.

For today’s context, we’ll be considering the first two, but the second especially. Imagine yourself as Joseph. You’ve been thrown in a pit by your brothers, and later sold to merchants. You later get enslaved, and accused of raping a woman fit to be your mother. For that you get a free red card into prison, and the person who promises to bail you out forgets about you.

I’m certain you’d be asking God, “why me, Lord?”

In Joseph’s scenario, you even wonder if God was aware of all what was going on! He was just a teen! Ruth was still a maid! But there she was; widowed! How about Job? How can a man lose all his wealth and 10 children in one day? How isn’t this inhumane in every way? Why wouldn’t I think of suicide? What’s left to live for? Life would suddenly lose meaning.

Regardless of my frustration, God assured me that even for each of those examples, He didn’t give them more than they could bear. If God gave Joseph more than he could bear, he would have died during the transitions.

Job as well would have kicked the bucket if he was given more than he could bear. We see happy endings for each despite lows inbetween. Joseph saved the world from famine. Ruth remarried into Jesus’ lineage. Job was restored of his belongings double fold, and all his 10 children he got again!

The rewards each of these got in the end comforted them so much that even the damages inbetween were now viewed through lenses of positivity and God’s hand (specifically for Joseph, when he told his brothers that what they meant for evil God turned for good).

I can’t ascertain if my mother will get remarried, or if we shall have another baby brother! For now, the one thing I am certain of is that God didn’t give her much more than she could bear. God didn’t give us (her children) much more than we could bear! Our story could perhaps be to the helping of another out there, or like I like to see it within Job’s context; God dared the enemy, assuring him that even if he took all Job had, Job wouldn’t renounce Him.

Initially God said to the devil ‘not to touch Job.’ It seems like this Job wouldn’t bear at first. But when the devil brought it up, and God allowed the smiting of Job’s skin with gruesome boils, even then, Job didn’t renounce God.

God took the limit beyond which Job could not bear, and transcended it to show that Job was stronger than the limits he had initially placed on him. Perhaps Job himself thought he wouldn’t bear the boils, and he was shocked to find himself persevering. This left no other thing for the enemy ‘to steal or kill or destroy’ to prove or lure Job into cursing God.

He had no other dimension to be tested in according to him. That left nothing but the rewarding of the trophy to him, by the creator of all life for the running of his race and fighting good the fight of faith. It’d most certainly have been discouraging if Job (who had lost his children) cursed the very God who gives children.

Once God told me that that Sunday afternoon, I was comforted. If in case the devil went back to him like he did for Job stating that we would renounce God if we lost one of us, and God permitted it, then I believe God first weighed our capacities to bear it all, (or if not, He allowed or created a grace for us to bear it all even when we thought we could not take it just as the case when He thought Job’s skin couldn’t be touched but He broke that boundary or limitation as well)

I am not saying this is easy. I’m but sharing a conversation. If we would not bear any of this, then we too would have died immediately after our brother’s passing. I may not answer every question now, but the point to get home for each one of us today is; He won’t give you much more than you can bear!

Perhaps you were heartbroken by that girl or boy. He said He wouldn’t give you much more than you can bear. You can for this one! You’ll get through it! Perhaps you have lost all your family members. He won’t give you (or allow) much more than you can bear. Perhaps you had a miscarriage. Perhaps your boss is over bossing. Perhaps your course isn’t getting done! Perhaps you were divorced. Perhaps you were evicted. Perhaps you were fired. Perhaps you were betrayed.

Perhaps God’s asking you to pray at 3 am daily! Perhaps you’re a single parent. Perhaps you were denied. Perhaps you were born in Africa! Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps! In every situation, be assured of His love in this regard; that He won’t give you much more than you can bear! If your spirit can’t adjust in strength, then you can end up worse. But . . . perhaps God wants you to discover how strong you are! Perhaps you would never discover the treasure within you if that bad thing didn’t happen to you.

Jesus himself begged the cup of suffering be taken far from him, but God didn’t. That only means God knew Jesus could bear it all! Jesus was stronger than He thought! For if he was not, I am certain He would have abandoned the mission early enough, dooming all mankind to eternal destruction.

Thank God He deposited more bearing capacity in Jesus even before He sent him to earth. He deposited the same capacity in you for any overwhelming situation that you may encounter in this life.

The Bible says the spirit of a man sustains Him. But how does the spirit of that man sustain him? I believe it does so by knowledge. Once you bear such knowledge for example, it will sustain you when more hardships come your way. And you’ll stay alive long enough to see God turn around every hopeless situation of yours, for His glory and for your good; just like He did for Joseph, Ruth and Job.

I’m confident that you’ll be dancing and singing again.

Mom, you’ll smile again. Aunt Flo, you’ll smile again. Joseph, Julius, Julian, Edgar … and you dear reader, who has — I’m sure — gone through a depressing moment in life, I assure you; you’ll dance again. For God won’t give you much more than you can bear! No, He won’t.

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1 Corinthians 10:13b NIV, ” And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted (TESTED or TRIED) beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted (TESTED or TRIED), he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it”.(Brackets added are mine; as the archaic definition of ‘tempt’ also had ‘testing’ and ‘trying’ as part of its meaning.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11a NIV, “We do not want you to be uninformed … about the troubles we experienced … we were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us…”