SERMON: GOD WILL NOT GIVE US MORE THAN WE CAN BEAR

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

2 Corinthians 1:8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 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. 10 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, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

            -- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series called “Bumper Sticker Theology” -- a look at the Bible verses, spiritual quotes, and familiar sayings that so many of us grew up knowing and that we now proclaim to the world on our bumper stickers, t-shirts, and Facebook and Instagram posts

            -- last week, we kicked off the series by looking at Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” -- and we talked about how the context and setting of that verse doesn’t mean what we normally think it means when we hear someone say that -- if you want to go back and look at that message again, I’ll have it posted on my blog later today

            -- this morning, we are going to look at another familiar saying: “God will not give us more than we can bear” -- sometimes you hear it as, “God will not give you more than you can handle”

            -- all of us have heard this saying before -- if you’ve been around the church for very long, someone has told you this -- maybe you’ve even said it to others -- and I know you’ve seen it on posters or memes or Facebook posts

            -- Mother Teresa even famously said this in her oft-quoted remark: “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle.  I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”

            -- it’s one of those sayings that has just become a cliché in the church -- one of those things that we say to ourselves or to others when times get hard -- “Cheer up -- take heart -- God is not going to give you more than you can handle”

            -- but if you have been around for any length of time, you know that this saying is certainly not true -- sometimes God does give us more than we can bear

            -- I have sat in the living room of a couple who lost their infant child -- it was more than they could bear

            -- I have known people who lost family members to suicide -- it was more than they could bear

            -- I have known people who have been seriously injured and in pain beyond belief -- it was more than they could bear

            -- I have known people who were betrayed by those closest to them -- it was more than they could bear

            -- we have seen this -- we have lived this -- we know this

            -- and regardless of what we say -- regardless of what we might want to believe -- sometimes the burdens of life are just too much for us to bear -- as Sophie McDonald wrote: “The needs [are] too many. The hurts too deep. The responsibilities too endless. The journey too painful. The heartache too heavy.”

            -- why do you think people sometimes turn to alcohol or drugs or suicide when they are in the midst of trials and tragic circumstances? -- it’s because life has gotten too big for them to handle -- they don’t know what else to do, so they try to numb their pain however they can

            -- even in the Scriptures, we see men and women whose lives are beset with tragic circumstances that are just too much -- too great -- for them to handle

      -- think of the poster child of adversity -- Job, from the Old Testament -- talking about someone who was certainly given more than he could handle

      -- when the Book of Job begins, we see Job as an extremely successful man -- physically, materially, spiritually -- he was wealthy beyond belief -- had a large and loving family -- good friends -- he was a highly respected leader in his community -- people in his community looked up to him and would seek him out for spiritual advice when they had questions or problems -- God Himself bragged about Job’s faithfulness and spiritual life

      -- but, all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye -- through no fault of his own -- Job lost everything -- he lost all of his possessions -- he lost his livelihood -- he lost all his sons and daughters -- he lost the respect of his wife -- he even lost his health

      -- Job was overwhelmed -- it was too much to bear -- and all Job could do was sit in ashes and cry out to God, “Why me?”

      -- but it’s not just Job -- think of Naomi from the Book of Ruth -- her family had land -- they had sons -- they were prosperous -- and then drought and famine hit the nation of Israel -- they fled to Moab, hoping to find better conditions there -- but Naomi could only watch as first her husband and then her two sons died, leaving her with two foreign daughters-in-law and no one to take care of them

      -- the name Naomi means “good, pleasant, lovely, winsome” -- but after these tragic circumstances come into her life that were just too much to bear, Naomi changes her name -- she tells people to stop calling her Naomi and to start calling her Mara, which means “bitter”

            -- and there are many others in the Bible who shared trials and tragic circumstances like Job and Naomi -- the Apostle Paul is another -- we’ll talk more about him in just a little while

            -- but the fact remains -- even though we know this saying is not true -- even though we know in our heart of hearts that sometimes we experience trials and tragic circumstances that are just too much -- we still cling to this idea that God won’t give us more than we can handle

            -- we like the idea of it -- we think it gives hope and encouragement and comfort -- but it is a false hope that often does more harm than good -- rather than being comforting, it just makes things worse

II.  The Truth about Trials and Troubles

            -- Where did this teaching come from? -- where did this idea that God is not going to give you more than you can handle originate?

            -- it probably came from a misinterpretation of Scripture -- in 1 Cor 10:13, it reads, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.”

            -- this Bible verse is absolutely true -- when you are tempted, God will not let you be tempted or tested beyond what you can bear -- He makes a way out for us so that we can endure it and choose not to sin

            -- the problem is that people have taken this verse that clearly is talking about withstanding temptation -- about self-discipline in the face of temptation, in the hopes of avoiding sin -- with temptation, we have a choice -- with temptation, God won’t give us more than we can handle

            -- the problem is that some have misunderstood this verse and have come up with the idea that it’s about more than just temptation -- they apply it to all circumstances, including the trials and the tragic circumstances that we experience in life

            -- but when it comes to trials and tragic circumstances in our lives, we don’t usually have a choice -- these things come on us and there’s nothing we can do about it -- and, very often, these trials and tragic circumstances that come our way that are just too great to handle -- too great to bear

            -- one problem with this teaching is that it focuses us inward and not Godward -- when we tell someone “God will not give you more than you can bear,” we are telling them they should have the strength within themselves to handle their crisis

            -- by using the phrase, “God will not give you more than you can bear,” we are telling someone to solve the problem on their own -- to “man up” and to get on with it -- they should be able to figure it out -- to use their resources and abilities and get this problem solved -- that is not comforting or encouraging -- that does not bring hope to someone who just can’t bear it anymore

            -- also, when you tell someone that God has not given them more than they can bear and it is too much for them, that can cause them to despair -- they don’t feel worthy -- they can think something is wrong with them or with their faith or that they’re just not good enough -- they can experience guilt, shame or doubt because of a misunderstanding of something God never said

            -- why do you think a lot of people won’t share their needs and concerns in the church? -- they don’t want to be judged -- they think if they ask for prayer for a situation that is too big for them -- that they can’t handle on their own -- that people are going to look down on them or think their faith is just not that strong

            -- the message of the Bible isn’t that we can take care of our own problems without God -- the message of the Bible is not that man is enough -- no, the message of the Bible is that we can’t do it -- the message of the Bible is that man is not strong enough to take care of our problems and needs

            -- the message of the Bible is that we need God, because only God can take care of our problems and our needs and our sins -- that’s why the Bible continually admonishes us to look to God in all things -- for our daily bread -- in our temptations -- in our daily walk -- and in our trials of various kinds -- especially trials and tragic circumstances that are too big for us to handle

            -- the Apostle Paul understood this -- -- look back at 2 Corinthians 1:8 and let’s see what Paul thought about the idea of God not giving us more than we can bear -- about us having the ability to take care of our trials and troubles on our own

            -- verse 8-9a

2 Corinthians 1:8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death.

            -- Paul knew troubles -- he had lived a life of adversity and trials and troubles that were certainly more than he could bear -- just read through Paul’s epistles and look at the litany of troubles that he faced in his life -- beatings -- floggings -- stoning -- imprisoned multiple times -- persecuted by Jews and by the Romans -- surrounded by mobs that wanted his head -- he had been shipwrecked and spent a night in the open water -- he had been hungry and thirsty and in danger from thieves and from others during his travels -- Paul knew adversity

            -- and look what he says here -- there were times that it just got too much -- it was more than he could bear

            -- he says right here that the hardships he suffered in Asia put him under great pressure, far beyond his ability to endure, to the point where he despaired even of life -- Paul’s hardships were so great that he sure that he wasn’t going to make it through them -- that he was going to die

            -- it’s too bad someone didn’t just tell him, “Don’t worry -- God is not going to give you more than you can handle”

            -- look back at the second part of verse 9b-11a

2 Corinthians 1:9b But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 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, 11 as you help us by your prayers.

            -- do you see what Paul is saying there? -- it was too much for them to handle, but it wasn’t too much for God

            -- without a doubt, God allowed these hardships and trials to come into Paul’s life -- not that He sent them -- troubles and trials and tragic circumstances are a part of living in this fallen world -- bad things happen to the just and the unjust -- bad things happen to good people and to bad people -- it’s the consequence of living in a world cursed with sin

            -- God didn’t send these trials and troubles to Paul -- no more so than He sent them to Job -- God was not the author of these tragic circumstances -- but He still allowed them to happen as a means of testing and proving Paul’s faith and trust in Him -- God used these trials and troubles to show Paul His faithfulness

            -- Paul says that these things happened so that they might learn not to rely on themselves, but on God -- he says that God delivered them from this deadly peril -- and they had learned that God would continue to deliver them -- their hope in hopeless situations wasn’t in their own abilities and resources, but in God’s abilities and resources

            -- what do you think Paul would say to someone who came to him and said, “God is not going to give you more than you can handle?” -- I’ll tell you what he would say -- “Hogwash! God will certainly give you more than you can handle -- but He’s not going to give you more than He can handle”

            -- look what happens when God shows up in these situations that are too much to bear -- look at the rest of verse 11

2 Corinthians 1:11b Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

            -- “many will give thanks on our behalf” -- thanks to Who? -- to God!

            -- people will see God’s power in taking care of these impossible situations -- in bearing what we cannot bear -- in handling those things that we cannot handle

            -- and they will know that it was God that did it -- and they will praise Him and give Him thanks for His mercy and grace in our lives

            -- Paul said that the people saw God deliver them time and time again and that God’s name was glorified and the gospel demonstrated before their very eyes

III.  Closing

            -- does God allow things in our lives that are too big for us to bear? -- absolutely -- but He promises to take care of them for us -- to deliver us from our sins and our trials and our troubles where we could not deliver ourselves

            -- so what do we do when trials and troubles come upon us that are bigger than we are? -- How do we bear up when faced with trials and tragic circumstances that are overwhelming us?

            -- we do what Paul tells us here -- we turn to God -- we admit that we can’t do it -- we admit that it’s too big for us -- and we cry out to God like Paul and Job and Naomi and we say, “Help us!”

            -- thinking about this reminds me of my favorite Psalm -- Psalm 121 -- this Psalm gives the impression of a man on a battlefield in an impossible situation -- surrounded by the enemy -- without hope -- without help -- it is too much to bear -- so in Psalm 121:1, the psalmist cries out, “I lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from?”

            -- and we see the marvelous answer in the next verse, “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth”      

            -- where does our help come from when our trials and troubles are just too much to bear? -- our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

            -- Adam Hamilton tells a story in his book, “Half Truths,” about a woman who had just lost her husband and her son in a car accident -- Clearly there is no way to “handle” this type of tragedy in life. -- it was too much to bear

            -- but her story doesn’t end there -- and it doesn’t end with someone telling her to take heart, that God won’t give her more than she can bear

            -- instead, a group of friends and family surround this woman and support her in the midst of her suffering -- they come to her home and help her get through the everyday ordinary things in life.

            -- They fix her breakfast and make sure she’s eating -- they provide food for visitors who come to the house -- they do her laundry, keep her house clean, and take care of the other children for her.

            -- They didn’t show up and say, “hang in there, you can handle this!” -- no, every day, they come alongside her and help her handle until she is better able to get up in the morning on her own.

            -- This is how the Spirit works through us -- this is how God is present with us -- this is how God takes care of trials and troubles that are too much to bear

            -- don’t let anyone ever tell you that God is not going to give you more than you can handle -- God will certainly allow trials and tragic circumstances to come into our lives that are too big for us to handle -- but He will never allow trials and tragic circumstances to come into our lives that are too big for Him to handle

            -- when someone is in the midst of an overwhelming storm of life, they don’t need false platitudes that make things worse -- what they really need to hear is of a God who loves them enough to help them in their time of need

            -- let’s pray

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Hamilton, Alexander.  Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn't Say.