God won't give you more than you can bear

"I know that God will not give me more than I can bear."

This sentence grieves my heart. I've written about it before and probably will again, simply because it is so often misused... and because the misuse upsets me so.  Someone quoted it in a ladies group I visited not long ago, and it has been on my mind since then. Might as well go on and get my thoughts in print so I can let it go.

The scripture that is referenced is 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says...

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.

Well meaning, God fearing, Christ believing people twist this to apply "God's not going to give us more than we can handle" to all sorts of situations.

It breaks my heart to hear someone say, "God won't give you more than you can bear" because...well, what happens when He does? What happens when He does not save the child? What happens when He doesn't restore the marriage? What happens when He does not heal the spouse? What happens when it IS too much to bear?

There are 2 blessings that we absolutely miss out on by misusing this promise.

First, we miss the promise it gives...God will ALWAYS provide a way out of temptation. We are not helpless to Satan's tempting. There will never be a time when temptation is so great that the ONLY option you have is to sin. This Scripture promises a way out when faced with temptation. But that is a post in and of itself and will have to wait for another day.

Secondly, we miss the fact that we NEED Christ. When things are too much to bear, I run to My heavenly Father and crawl into His lap and sob. When I am terrified, I hide behind my heavenly Father. When I was told that I was having a miscarriage, when I was diagnosed with cancer, when there were more bills than money, when friends betrayed us, when my Nan died and I didn't know how to comfort my mom, when I was diagnosed with cancer again...when life was too much to bear, I ran to my Father. He carried me when I couldn't go on. He supported me when I collapsed. He comforted me when I grieved. He picked me up, dusted me off, wiped my tears, held me, soothed me, and comforted my soul. And, when life is too much to bear in the future, I will run to Him, and He will hold me.

I need Christ for Salvation and I need God's grace... but that's not all I need.  Sometimes life really IS too hard. Some circumstances and situations really ARE too much for me to bear. Sometimes I feel like I am going to crumble into a million pieces. Sometimes I feel like I am going to be crushed under the weight of the world. Sometimes my heart hurts so much that I think I might never recover. In these times I NEED God.

Why, oh why, would the God who has gone to such great lengths to make Himself known to us orchestrate our lives in such a way so that we never have need to run to Him for comfort, direction or any other sort of help?

I found this when I was looking for something that says "God wont give you more than you can bear"....

That pretty much sums it up.