My soul also is greatly troubled; but You, O Lord—how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake! (Psalm 6:3-4)
At one time or another, I’m sure most of us have heard the phrase, “God will not put upon us any more than we can bear.” This sentiment, often recited when we find ourselves going through difficulty and testing, is distilled from a statement made by Paul to the Corinthians. As he admonished them not to repeat the mistakes of ancient Israel, he warned them against giving into the same temptations as they had. In other words, Paul wasn’t addressing hardship as much as warning them against succumbing to weakness. His actual words were, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13). In short, God will not allow us to be tempted in a way that we are incapable of withstanding.
I would argue that there is a difference between being tempted and having to endure chastening. That being so, let’s consider David’s plea as he endured the LORD’s chastening, which seems to be: How long, LORD, are you going to allow this time of trial and chastening to endure? He cries out that he is weak and that his bones and soul are troubled; he is wondering if there is much more to endure. I don’t know about you but I can say that I have been just where David was in his thinking: “I don’t know how much more I can take.” Even if we know that the LORD is allowing us to be tested in our faith through His reproof, it still doesn’t make it any easier when we are uncertain as to when the chastening will conclude.
And so, when it comes to a trial of our faith and endurance — the chastening of the LORD — does God put on us only what we think we can bear or does He place upon us all that we need to bear in order to learn the lesson He has for us? If we truly believe that He is Good and only wants for us what is in our best interests, then we must conclude it is the latter. And so, in those times of not knowing when these things shall lift, we persevere and join our voices with David’s in the plea — “Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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