To Bear or Escape

Throughout my life, I have heard the expression that God will not put more on us than we can bear.

I personally have never read that in scripture, but I do understand the concept. Jesus died for our sins and the burden that sin brought upon us. It is safe to say that Christ did not want us to continue throughout life bearing things that God did not put in or on us. He has always given us a way of escape or the ability to bear them.

According to I Corinthians 10:13, it states:

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” - ‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:13‬ KJV

We can also see in Matthew 11:28 that Jesus tells us to come and give him what is burdening us. He says it like this:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28

The weight of shame, guilt, rejection, and abandonment are examples of things we carry that Christ took care of on the cross. Since we are instructed to take up our cross, we must first lay our burdens down.

Sometimes we bear things because we don’t like the escape plan. We think it should go a certain way before we leave and it causes us to remain under a burden that we don’t have to carry at all.

The cross is about laying down and dying to yourself; not to see how much I can carry.

We understand that we all have a cross to carry. What happens when we carry weight beyond the cross? It could cause us to quit.

Life can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. When that happens, you must ask yourself, what am I carrying? If what you’re carrying is more than what’s required of you by God, you must be willing to take the escape route.

Part of that route is I Peter 5:7 AMP which states:

“casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” - 1 Peter 5:7

God is here to help us. His ways are higher than our ways and so are his thoughts. His solution is to always take you higher. We can not soar if we are burdened with cares. His desire is that we rise above our situations.

The enemy is the one who came to kill, steal, and destroy. He wants to keep us grounded and not reach the level God has created for us.

I’ve had my share of tests and trials and I’m sure there are more to come. Some I had to bear and some God made a way of escape. We may feel we can handle the pressures of life regardless of what it may be.

The truth is we can’t.

Some are meant to bear according to James 1:2-4:

“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

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Some of the trials are working something out in you.

Some are simply working your nerves. It is not producing anything but heartache.

Some of them you may have to walk away from. It doesn’t mean I don’t care. It wasn’t my care to carry.

Remember to weigh them both: to bear or to escape. The faithfulness of God is there no matter what. Whatever he chooses for you, he’ll be right there to help you through it.

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