"The Lord will never give you more than you can bear," a sister in the Lord said to me.
"Where does it say that?" I asked her.
I did not ask this in a snappy way. I understood her kind intentions. She was reassuring me that Gods protective hand was shielding me, yet still allowing a measured amount of mental pain, anguish and struggle to filter through His hands into my life. But I wanted to know where this truth is precisely stated in God’s Word. My eyes needed to be able to gaze upon the ink, the letters, the verse, the chapter. She said she would find it for me.
A few moments later she returned and quietly placed a computer printout in front of me. The words from Psalm 103 reminded me that the Lord knows my frame, my frailties, and my weaknesses. I am but dust.
Still, where is the chapter and verse that says God never gives me more than I can bear? My hunt then turned serious for this elusive verse. I looked in my 10-pound concordance and came up empty. I searched the Internet and quizzed my Christian friends.
Eventually and reluctantly, my friend conceded that it probably didn’t exist as worded in this often-repeated way. Or how about this frequently heard statement? God helps those who help themselves. But John 15: 5 says, for without Me you can do nothing.
Then recently, a non-Christian informed me rather insistently that the names Catherine and Theresa are most assuredly found in the Bible. I don’t remember ever seeing those names, I told her, but that I would check it out. The verdict? These names are not found in the Bible.
My senior pastor has always said that the sweetest sound to his ears on Sunday mornings is when he asks the flock to open their Bibles and he hears a 1,000 pages rustling. It thrills him because the body of Christ is ready to search the Holy Scriptures, to examine the truths of God, and to see for themselves what is (and is not) found within its wondrous pages.
Allow me just one more before I let you go.
Everyone calls it The Great Flood. It may be a heading in your Bible but God has never called it that. He personalizes the event and calls it the waters of Noah (Isaiah 54:9).Today, May the Chief Shepherd and Pastor of our souls hear a 1,000 pages rustling.
Copyright © March 5, 2007 – Sandra Snider. All rights reserved.
