God does not give us more than we can bear; He doesn’t even give us anything (heavy) to bear! This idea that God makes us bear things to make us grow is unbiblical. God’s ways are like telling a hungry man, “eat!” His ways are easy and not heavy.
So, does God give us more than we can bear?
People have this idea they can handle a whole lot, but thank God salvation and the Christian life is not about us. The truth is that God doesn’t give us anything heavy or burdensome. My Bible says, “You will find rest for your souls” when you follow Jesus. Hey, God is not the one overloading you with burdens! He is the one lifting you burdens off of you!
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. – Psalm 55:22 (NASB)
God wants to release you from your burdens; He is not the one weighing you down.
People think, “well he doesn’t give you more than you can bear; He just makes you bear the maximum amount.”
As I said earlier, God Isn’t the one overloading you. When you lift weights, you should never lift as much as you can. You can seriously hurt your body lifting your max. If an ungodly trainer can see the stupidity in that workout, what makes you think our loving father would give us the max amount we can bear?
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”- Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)
If anyone says they have a heavy burden from the Lord, I doubt that it is from God. “But Caleb, God said His gives (light) burdens.” The reason God’s burdens are light are because He is the one carrying them. You should not be able to feel the burden. His burden is light. According to Strong’s concordance the word light in this scripture means,
1) Light in weight, quick, agile).
During the Olympics pay attention to the clothing they wear. It is quick and light. Imagine Usain Bolt getting ready to run with a huge fur coat and baggy pants! Do you think he would win? No, his clothes are so light he is not held back by it. He cannot even really feel his light weight shoes and clothing. That is the way God’s burden is. It is so light you can run the race with speed. Paul said at the end of His life,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7
God wants us to run this race without any burdens weighing us down. If someone believes it is their calling to serve at the church, and every day they serve they hate It, I doubt it’s God that called them. Many people do not enjoy working in youth ministry, but as for me, I loved being a youth leader. I could not wait to go to church and serve in the youth (because God supplied the ability). So, if you feel a heavy burden, that is not my Jesus. The devil wants to burden you to slow you down.
A very nice lady came to me one day; she led the group at our church that prayed before service, and she wanted me to pray before church. She meant well but she asked me one day, “Caleb, do you have a burden of the Lord, to pray for the nations.” I looked at her (with a smile) and said, “I have no burden to pray.” The truth is that I was willing to pray, but I’m not praying because God made me feel guilty; I want to pray because I love God.
Does this mean we don’t work? No, I spend time studying the word, and we work at our jobs, but this verse is talking about the religion they were under (the old covenant). The old covenant was hard; it was all about us. The law says, “You shall not, you shall not, you shall not,” but it does not lift a finger to help you. Thank Jesus; our new covenant is all about Jesus! Jesus has carried all of our burdens on the Cross.
Now, why is our burden light? Someone had to pay. At the Cross Jesus took our heavy burdens and paid for them all. He lightened our load. He doesn’t give us more than we bear because He bore all of our burdens at the Cross!
Also check out Joseph Prince’s message on this topic, “Living By The Unforced Rhythms Of Grace (CD Sermon)”
photo credit: rgordon/ flickr.com and Tonya Christner/ creationswap.com
2 Corinthians 1:8-11 Paul (and others) were “burdend beyond measure” so that they would “trust in God” and not in themselves. Yes, God does allow us to be burdened beyond what we can bear so that our faith and trust is fully upon Him.
I hear you! Thank makes sense!
Personally, I don’t think God gives anyone more than they can bear. But I don’t think all things and struggles are credited to Him. I think there are forces out there that purposely seek to destroy us and our spirit. We can misinterpret them as something God gives us, but I firmly believe Satan has a hand in giving us struggles. Some people will argue that I am giving Satan too much power, but we can’t underestimate him. It is in those times of struggle and trials that God will provide for us, but it is up to us to turn to Him.