Bearing the Unbearable

For as long as I can remember, I recall being told that God will never give you more than you can bear, and I believed it. However, since I’ve been reading and studying my Bible more, I have yet to find anything in Scripture to support that concept. In fact, I have found the exact opposite. Think about the following individuals: Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego, Daniel, Job, Joseph, and Paul. They all faced “unbearable” circumstances in their lives, and while God could have removed each one from those situations, He allowed them to go through them.

It would be unthinkable to say to Daniel that being thrown into a den of ravenous lions was something he would be expected to “bear”. Likewise, telling Job that losing his children, possessions, and his health should also be bearable in his humanity. What about being bound and thrown into a furnace heated up to seven times more than it normally burns? Is that something a person should be expected to bear? None of these situations would be considered humanly bearable, yet God allowed each one to happen. Why?

The answer is multifaceted. While there are many reasons in Scripture, here are three of them from God’s Word that offer explanations as t0 why we sometimes are called to bear the “unbearable”.

1) To Glorify God

• “And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” – John 9:2-3
  • God allows hard times in our lives in order for Him to be glorified, which then becomes a powerful testimony to non-believers when they see our responses through times of suffering. It shows that our trust in Christ to see us through anything is just as valid through hard times as well as those that are easy. This demonstrates genuine faith in God as HE carries us through those “unbearable” situations in life.
• “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified…Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” – 1 Peter 4:12-14,16
  • When God is glorified through our trials and tribulations, it reinforces the power of God  within us to persevere. God proves to us that He is the God of the valley as well as the God of the mountain… unchangeable, always with us, always faithful, and He will always see us through anything He allows to come into our lives.

2) To Grow Our Faith

• “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” – James 1:2-4
  • When we get to the point where we have no control over what is happening, we are forced to go to God. Unbearable circumstances compel us to go to the One who does control all. When we face uncertainty, fears, and despair, God becomes our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1).
• “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
  • As we shift from dependence on ourselves to dependence on God, our faith becomes stronger, and as Christians, we learn to access God’s power within each of us, understanding what Paul meant when he wrote through his personal weaknesses he became strong through Christ.

3) To Generate Fruit

• “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:5-8
  • As Christians, our lives should reflect the Lord Jesus Christ. When others see us successfully navigate through times of unbearable suffering (through the grace of God), they will know they can approach you when similar situations occur in their own lives. It may be for support, advice, or even prayer! Our lives may be the “only Jesus some will ever see”. When we endure hardships AND then attribute that to God, it gives others a reason to come to Christ themselves. Jesus is our hope.
    • “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:3-5
  • We live in a chaotic world that offers no hope to those who have lost loved ones, face life-threatening diseases, endure financial hardships, etc. People are searching for hope, and we have exactly what they need… Jesus!

It is important to remember that we live in a sin-cursed world. Bad things happen to good people. God allows the sun to shine and the rain to fall on the “just and unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Christians are not exempt from the curse of sin that is upon this world, but we have an advantage that the unbeliever does not have. We know that every single promise God has every made in His Word has come true or will come true. That means that when we go through “unbearable” times, God will

• Always be with us – “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10)
• Always make things work together to His good – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
• Always acts in our best interests – “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Hebrews 12:11)

In the midst of the storm, we may not understand the “why” because our perspective is humanly limited.

• “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Additionally, we cannot see through the eyes of God as He reminds us in Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Until that day when we shall see all things clearly, God will ALWAYS be with us whether in the valley of the shadow of death, facing unimaginable trials and tribulations, and bearing those “unbearable” burdens. We are ALWAYS sheltered in His protective, loving arms.

I feel the touch of hands so kind and tender
They’re leading me in paths that I must trod.
I’ll have no fear ’cause Jesus walks beside me
For I’m sheltered in the arms of God.
 
So let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise
They won’t worry me for I’m sheltered safe within the arms of God
He walks with me and naught of earth shall harm me
For I’m sheltered in the arms of God.

(from “Sheltered in the Arms of God” by Dottie Rambo)

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” – 1 Peter 1:6-7

**********

Facing something unbearable now? Take it to the Lord in prayer. He is ALWAYS listening.