Kindly, Kayla 🌼

I was reading my Bible this morning, and I came across this passage in 2 Corinthians, written by the apostle Paul. Let’s read it together:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. ⁴ He comforts us in all our affliction,^[b] so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will also share in the comfort.

⁸ We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again,

2 Corinthians 1:3-10 CSB

According to the Enduring Word Commentary, we do not know the exact nature of the suffering Paul was referring to in Asia. It may have been “some type of persecution or a physical affliction made worse by Paul’s missionary work.” However, what we do know from the text is that Paul and his companions were “completely overwhelmed, beyond our own strength—so that we even despaired of life itself.”

As I read this passage in my Tony Evans Study Bible, I came across an article that mentioned a popular saying often repeated in Christian circles: “God will never put more on you than you can bear.” Tony Evans called this a myth. Why? Because if we look at what Paul says in this passage, he literally says they were completely overwhelmed beyond their own strength, so much so that they despaired of life itself. In other words, they felt deeply discouraged and hopeless. It was more than they could bear.

I think some of the confusion comes from another passage where Paul also writes:

“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.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

As we can see, God will not allow us to be tempted (enticement to sin) beyond what we can endure. He will always provide a way out, enabling us to resist the enemy’s temptation and our own sinful desires. 

However, that verse does not say that God will never allow us to experience suffering or trials that are more than we can bear.

In fact, the point is that we cannot bear suffering and trials alone. Paul says in verse 9, “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”

When we go through situations that seem hopeless, they reveal our inability to depend on or deliver ourselves. These moments should move us toward a deeper dependence on and trust in God. Sometimes, to grow our faith and deepen our trust in Him, God allows us to face circumstances that we simply cannot handle on our own or find answers to by ourselves.

He wants us to come to Him and place our burdens on Him so that He can deliver us and ultimately receive the glory. God often uses trials to shift our focus away from ourselves and back to Him.

I mean, think about what Job went through; I think we could easily say that was more than he could bear. Consider the prophet Elijah. After fleeing from Jezebel’s death threats, Elijah, who was exhausted and overwhelmed, went into the wilderness and “prayed that he might die.” (1 Kings 19:4)

So, you may be in a situation right now where you feel like you cannot make it through on your own. It feels like more than you can bear. The sickness, the loss, the grief feels like too much for you. That’s the point. You were never meant to carry it by yourself. I mean, we can even bring this back to John 15, my favorite passage of scripture, where Jesus says, “apart from me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NIV)

So turn to your Heavenly Father, the One who delivers. We can have hope because He has delivered before, and He will deliver again.

Turn to the God of all comfort, who provides comfort in the midst of suffering:

“He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The comfort God gives us helps us comfort others who are walking through similar situations. God used this passage to comfort me, and I felt compelled to share that comfort with you.

Together, let us place our hope in our wonderful God, who can and will rescue, restore, and sustain us.

Thank you so much for reading.

Kindly,

Kayla ♡