DAILY ENCOUNTER


by Dick Innes ~ ACTS International http://www.actsweb.org
Partnering with NCF Ministries: http://www.ncfliving.org


ON TEMPTATION AND BURDENS

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ . . . For every man shall bear his own burden."
       -- Paul (Galatians 6:2,5)

A "Daily Encounter" reader makes an excellent case when she
says, "You know how people comfort others by telling them,
'God will not put more on you than you can bear?' I think
that comes from the scripture relating to temptation but no
where can I find that it says God won't allow you to
endure hardship that is too hard for you to bear.  The
apostle Paul said in 2 Cor.1:8 " For we do not want you to
be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in
Asia: that we were burdened beyond our measure, above
strength, so that we despaired even of life."

The lady who wrote to me is right. The Bible does say that
God won't allow us to be tempted more than we can bear --
but with the temptation will provide a way of escape. This
is totally different than the burdens many of us are
challenged daily with.

True, the Bible teaches how God allows tribulation and
burdens to come into our life to help us to grow. But when
the burden is too heavy, we are to help one another.
Today's scripture appears to be in conflict when it says to
bear one another's burdens and then everyone must bear
his/her own burden.

Forgive me if I've written about this before but there are
two words for the word "burden" in this scripture. The first
means a burden that is too heavy for any one person to be
able to carry alone. The second means a "burden" such as a
knapsack -- one that is not too heavy for anyone to carry.

In other words, when a fellow Christian is under a burden
that is impossible for him or her to bear alone, we are to
help . On the other hand, if we carry
someone's knapsack for them when they are quite capable of
carrying it themselves, we aren't helping them if we carry
it for them, but keeping them overdependent and allowing
them to use us. In this case neither one of us is being
helped. (This is co-dependency).

"Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the wisdom to
know when my own burden is too heavy to carry alone and the
willingness to ask for help (and help me to find the help I
need). And when a friend's burden is too great for him/her
to bear alone, help me to see this and be willing to help
with their load besides just praying for this person, or
expressing to them some empty, meaningless cliché.
Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

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DAILY ENCOUNTER is written by Dick Innes
and published by ACTS International, a non-profit
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Dick Innes
ACTS International
250 W. Colorado Blvd., Suite 100
Arcadia, CA 91007-2608
U.S.A.



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