Does the Bible really say God won't put more on you than you can handle?

Answer 1

This is a VERY commonly held belief.

You hear it preached from pulpits... repeated by fellow Christians trying to encourage you... but it's simply not true.

There is nothing in The Bible that says this... So where did it come from?

A misreading of scripture...It's found nowhere in scripture because it's actually a twisting of the following verse from 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB, emphasis mine):"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."

You see, the verse in question is actually referring to temptations, NOT the weight of circumstances, religious duty, afflictions, trials and tribulations. God won't allow you to be TEMPTED beyond what you're able to resist... but He sure as heck will allow more things to happen to you than you can bare.

In fact, many times you see people in the Bible being put in serious conditions beyond what they can bare. Jesus wept... sweated blood because He was so distressed over his inevitable sacrifice... and then was tortured until He died.

God WILL put more on you than you can bare!You may think this isn't true. But it is, God will put more on you than you can handle. Why? Because He doesn't want you to rely on your own strength, your own works, your own mettle to live the Christian life. He wants to do it for you, He wants to be your strength, your source of life, so sometimes He (lovingly) has to allow you to be broken by your circumstances.

Read this passage from 2 Corinthians 1: 8-118-11: 8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[a] behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Paul said "He didn't think he was going to make it"... other translations say "we despaired even of life" (NASB)... "we were so utterly and unbearably weighed down and crushed that we despaired even of life [itself]." (Amplified Bible)... any way you look at it, they were under more pressure than they could humanly take.

And what was the purpose of this? Why did God ALLOW them to be crushed?

So they would turn to God and trust in Him as their strength... and KNOW that He is the only one who can successfully live the "Christian Life".