Where did people get the “God will never put more on you than you can handle” idea?
It’s a legitimate question. Where’s that in the Bible?
God is not out looking to weigh you down with just enough struggles before you collapse. Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came so that you might have abundant life.
In fact, most of what Christians think God has dealt them is actually a curse. And we are free from the curse of the law.
For example, God has promised us victory after victory after victory. The path of the righteous is like the light of the dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18)
I love how Evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth puts it: The sun doesn’t zig zag. It doesn’t get depressed and quit. ? It keeps shining and going up!
That is God’s best. Just because you’ve had a failure in life doesn’t mean you are a failure. And it’s wrong to base theology on life experiences—on anything except the Word of God.
God calls you a victor—more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37) God causes you to triumph. (2 Cor. 2:14) And God sent His Son to redeem you from what the majority of the church thinks God places on them! (Galatians 3:13)
I am SO GLAD that Jesus has made a way for us to walk free of anxiety, sickness, and defeat. We are free from the curse of the law!
Does it sound too good to be true? Well, God is too good—but it is all true!
Let me show you!
From perpetual defeat to perpetual victory
A few posts ago we talked about that it doesn’t suck to serve God. In fact, just the opposite—get connected with the Answer to all life’s problems and things start looking up.
I showed you Deuteronomy 28, which lists blessings for those who serve God and curses that automatically come for those who don’t.
Don’t disregard this chapter, thinking it only applies to the children of Israel. Yes, context is very important when interpreting Scripture…
But let Scripture interpret Scripture.
We share Abraham’s blessing through faith
Deuteronomy 28 still pertains to us today because we are all children of Abraham through faith:
In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
(Galatians 3:6-14)
The Abrahamic blessing
I covered some of the amazing Abrahamic blessings in my post It Doesn’t Suck to Serve God, but I’ll recap with:
- God setting us high above all the nations of the earth (Deut. 28:1)
- Blessed and prosperous shall we be wherever we go (Deut 28:3-6)
- Perpetual victory; all enemies defeated (Deut. 28:7)
- The nations of the earth will be in awe of us (Deut. 28:10)
- Our work will be blessed (Deut. 28:12)
- We will lend and not borrow (Deut. 28:12)
- We are ALWAYS ON TOP (Deut. 28:13)
These are the blessings that come with serving God and having Jesus in our hearts, so I don’t understand why people are constantly negative about Christianity.
You can continue reading about the beautiful, undeserved benefits of serving the Lord in my other post, but today I want to talk about even more undeserved benefits:
The stuff Jesus Christ has redeemed us from.
The curse of the Law
The following is a key, pinnacle Scripture for interpreting all of the Bible.
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When He was hung on the cross, He took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
(Galatians 3:13)
Jesus has rescued us from the curse of the Law and loosed the blessing of Abraham to us. This is SERIOUSLY GREAT NEWS if you will read the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 28.
However, what is the curse of the Law? What exactly did Jesus rescue us from?
Now, if you don’t realize that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, the following will be depressing. This is a list of the curses that came from sin.
But now Christ has redeemed us from this specific curse, if you have Him in your heart—and none of these things have any access to your life. We are free from the curse of the law!
The curse of the law (that we are free from!)
I’m going to paraphrase for the sake of length (the curse is an entire 53 verses!).
All these curses will come and overwhelm you. …
Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be cursed. …
The Lord will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy. The Lord will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die. …
The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! …
The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The Lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic. …
You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit. …
The Lord will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick. He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief. The Lord will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed. …
(Deuteronomy 28:15-68 paraphrased)
*pants* Whew!
Just a note
Just a note: Robert Young, a respected Bible scholar, says in the original Hebrew there is no causative tense. When it got translated, sometimes we see it say “the Lord will send” and then it keeps cycling to “these curses will come”. It should have always been translated “these curses will come”, because it’s not God who curses you.
As Jonathan Shuttlesworth puts it: “God doesn’t have to make you wet if you’re standing in the river. God doesn’t have any sickness up in Heaven to send to you. When you’re on the devil’s domain, he has access to do what he wants to do.” The curses do it all on their own.
Our redemption from the curse of the Law
This is why I don’t understand why people claim their sickness is from God:
These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick. … you will have no relief. [You will be afflicted with] every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction.
(Deuteronomy 28:60-61)
Sickness: clearly listed as a curse. A curse God sent Jesus to rescue us from. Not a blessing!
Acts 10:38 calls sickness an oppression of the devil. It’s an agent of death. Jesus worked to destroy sickness and disease all throughout all the Gospels—and in taking stripes on His back for sickness. (1 Peter 2:24)
“Intense and without relief” — Long, chronic stuff that won’t go away? It’s a curse!
For instance, I’m dealing with a chronic condition right now. It’s not a blessing, it’s a curse. And I am free from the curse of the law.
Even if I led every nurse in a hospital to the Lord. That could be God taking something the devil meant for bad and turning it for good, but disease is not listed as a blessing. Disease: clearly listed as a curse. Christ has redeemed us from ALL the curse of the Law.
Thank God!
Feel free to save and share.
God’s will pertaining to living free from the curse of the Law
Yeah, God will “allow” you to get sick. He’ll also “allow” you to go rob a bank. That doesn’t mean He wills for you to do so. :o)
Don’t confuse what God “allows” with what His will is. He says His will is that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), but yet Jesus said that more will perish than will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14).
We must comply with His will. Contrary to popular Christian belief, He doesn’t want you to be sick!
Because God sent Jesus to take your sickness—clearly listed as a curse.
And by the grace of God, He has redeemed us from the curse of the Law!
We are free from the following curses of the Law
I’m focusing on sickness because that’s what I’m overcoming right now, but further curses of the Law include:
- Mental disorders (Deut. 28:28) — Madness, anxiety, panic attacks, blindness… these things are not for us!
- Failed marriages (Deut. 28:30)
- Not enjoying fruit of your labor (Deut. 28:30) — (Remember that story about an athlete who blew through $169 million in nine years in paying child support due to his sin? That’s the curse of sin.)
- Poverty (Deut. 28:45)
- Perpetual defeat (Deut. 28:25)
- Sickness (Deuteronomy 28:58-61)
- Especially chronic illness. (Deut. 28:59)
Chronic illnesses ticked Jesus off. Sometimes He didn’t wait for people to come to Him for healing; He went and healed them! The sickness that had that woman bent over double for years? Jesus had enough. (Luke 13:16)
And then He became a curse to officially free us from the curse of sickness forever.
These things are for the devil and his crowd. These things are the default.
But for children of God? We have a higher portion.
Living free from the curse
If you serve God, the curse of the Law has no right to inflict you. Kiss it goodbye!
For example, I talked about this in my post What Happens When You Live by the Truth; not the Facts, but I’ll reiterate here.
God’s Word says that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law. Not WILL redeem us—HAS redeemed us. When Jesus said “it is finished” (John 19:30), it really was finished!
That’s the Truth.
So live by that Truth. Act on it. We walk by faith, not by sight; we live by the Truth, not the facts.
For instance, a condition I’m facing is from the pit of hell and I hate it. It’s chronic, it’s painful, and it’s a disease—which, according to Deuteronomy 28, is a curse.
In addition, Jesus paid too high a price for me to go around accepting this thing and saying it is from Him.
That’s the Truth I believe. And I will act on that Truth and thank God even before the facts line up.
People think I’m weird for this. Likewise, I think they’re weird! Weird for thinking God puts sickness on people. That’s WEIRD. That’s sick and twisted. The devil loves that!
“I thank God for my cancer”… well, you’re not bright. Cancer is a curse. (Deuteronomy 28:27) You don’t have to live with it!
This isn’t faking it ’til you make it. I’m not denying that I hurt a lot. But I do deny the sickness’s right to exist in my body. It is a curse, and I am free from the curse of the law.
That’s the fight of faith. And let me tell you, as someone who’s seen miracles already with my arthritis, it’s not lunacy.
It’s living by the Word of God, a much higher authority than any sickness or defeat!
So, GREAT NEWS: You can live free from the curse of the Law!
Live like it. Call the things that be not as though they were. (Romans 4:17)
And live free from the curse of the Law in Jesus’s Name.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law. Goodbye sickness, defeat, failure, and tragedy! Those things are not for us.
Whatever you’ve lost, God can restore it to you in seconds. Health, joy, peace—whatever it is.
I have this promise up on my wall:
“I will restore to you the years the enemy has stolen.” (From Joel 2:25)
Your book is not finished being written. No matter how your story began, today, you and God will begin to write a glorious conclusion.
– Evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth, “How to Emerge from Devastation Stronger Than You Were Before“
God is too good, but He’s all true.
Jesus has redeemed us from the curse. Thank God for victory that belongs to the child of God!
How do you feel about living free from the curse of the Law?
So so so true. I mean, I’ve had some sicknesses before (nothing big or serious, just a cold or the flu) and it doesn’t mean God wants me to be sick or fail. But because of him I know I will always be able to get back up again.
Xoxoxo
McKayla
http://Www.crazycountrydolls.blogspot.com
http://Www.thetalesofatriplethreat.blogspot.com
Absolutely! Too many people confuse what God allows with what His will is. Thanks for reading, McKayla!
(Psssst mr shuttleworth, the sun doesn’t HAVE to keep rising, its a stationary non-sentinent burning ball of gasssss)
Emphasis on God turning your curses into blessings ?
Most crazily, ~Olive
???
Ehh, technicalities. XD
I’m still the only one I know who thinks this, but suffering produces character….doesn’t God allow hardships for us to grow?
Suffering definitely produces character, but it’s not the only thing that does! The Bible says that God’s Word is profitable unto all teaching. God teaches through His Word, not through hard knocks of life. Any lesson we could learn through suffering, we could also learn it through God’s Word. ?
Yes, but I have gone through things and learned about God’s love and mercy much more than reading 200+ verses or memorizing in Sunday school. God chooses a different path for everyone, I guess.
You’re not the only one that thinks that–I agree with you. 🙂
I saw you said it’s some people’s favorite hobby to disagree with you in the comments of your posts… well, it might become mine, but first, let me say thank you. I’ve kind of been stalking you for a while without commenting on anything because I wanted to have something worth saying before I said it. And the first thing I need to say is that no matter how different you and I are theologically, I really appreciate the messages you’re sharing. People need to know that there are teens who are passionate about Jesus and won’t let Satan win. THANK YOU for showing that.
(Here comes the disagreeing part 😉 But… God does NOT say that he will take all our troubles away in this world (John 16:33), but that he has overcome the world. He does NOT say that we won’t have trials (James 1:12), but that we must be steadfast. He says that our sickness can be used to glorify him (John 11:3-5) and to strengthen our faith (James 1:1-3, 1 Peter 1:5-7). He’s not the one who gives us these hardships (John 10:10, Ephesians 6:11), but we know that we’ll suffer them when we are Christians (2 Corinthians 12:10, 6:3-5). He has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), but as Abraham was tested (Hebrews 11:17-18), we are tested by trials and fire so that our genuine faith may result in his glory (1 Peter 1:6-8). The apostle Peter says that we will be tested just as Christ was, but that we should rejoice as we share Christ’s sufferings that we may also share in his glory (1 Peter 4:12-13, Romans 8:16-18). And we WILL suffer (1 Peter 4:1-3). I agree with you that God doesn’t necessarily always send us these troubles, but he allows them to happen so that we will turn to him in our pain (Job 1-2). We share in Abraham’s blessing, but God didn’t promise that Abraham would never be sick. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), not sickness.
I don’t claim that my sickness is from God or that it’s not a curse. It IS an agent of the devil that came from the Fall and will haunt us till Jesus returns.
But in this world we will have trouble, and I can’t get around that.
I’m undefeated. But not because I don’t have trouble. Because I don’t let the trouble end my joy and glory in Jesus.
So Madi, I have two questions for you. (Btw, I’d really like to talk about this, but let’s be nice to each other and uphold GOD’S TRUTH above our own personal opinions. I’m open to debate. If you can convince me that I’m wrong, then go ahead!)
Question one: my brother’s in the hospital right now. He was born with his breathing problems, and there’s no way to really fix them. We’ve been praying for him to get better, but he hasn’t been miraculously healed. Is this because of our sin? Our unbelief? The devil? Why is it happening?
Question two: when you compare getting sick with robbing a bank in your Instagram post, do you mean that both are sins? Or that they’re both results of sin? How are they related, and does God really “allow” us to do those in the same way?
I would LOVE to hear your answers to these questions, and as I said, I’m open to differences and debate.
Thanks! I’m glad you’re sharing Christ through your blog, and I’m excited to talk with you about his truth.
Maya
Thank for stopping by and reading! I don’t participate in theological debates. :o)
Well, thank you anyway! 🙂
Hey!! I hope I’m not intruding, but I understand what its like to go through things that make no sense. According to James 1:3 trials produce steadfastness, this may be why you’re brother is going through this. Also, he could change someone’s life in his sickness. (Which is awesome).
And I would like you to know that you aren’t the only with your beliefs. I can’t account for everything you’re saying ((I would have to do more reading/research)) but it looks like I agree with most of it. <3
You beat me to it, maya! I agree with you entirely! I’m sorry about your brother, though. 🙁 Just remember that “…all things work together for good to them that love God…” and He has a purpose for everything. He’ll see you and your family through. 🙂
Also, Madi–I’m curious to know why you don’t participate in theological debates? Are you just not confident you’ll be able to answer certain questions? (Because I understand that problem if you have it–I get equally self-conscious about it.) Or do you think it’s a sin or maybe it’ll turn into a fight? Just wondering. 🙂
I actually used to participate in theological debates often. My opponents would always invite me to “spice things up”. ?
After a while, I realized it’s completely useless to argue with people. If they have a question and genuinely want to learn, that’s different—not asking me a question just to come back with their own ideas.
If someone doesn’t agree with me, I don’t care.
That does make sense. On the internet, it’s almost impossible to change someone’s mind. The way I see it, though; debating with people helps you grow more than it helps change the other person’s mind. In my experience, I used to be afraid to debate with people because I thought maybe there would be a question I couldn’t answer. But as I started analyzing your posts, agreeing with a lot of things but also disagreeing with some and having a verse for it in mind, I realized that my fear is actually kinda the point if you’re spiritually young, and if there’s something you can’t give an answer to, try to study it out yourself or ask someone older and wiser for advice.
I’m not trying to tell you to do something you don’t want to do, I’m just giving you a different angle to look at it from, just so you can see it’s not entirely useless. 🙂
I love your graphics! I think I understand what you’re saying about illnesses and things of that matter, but does it apply to everything? I guess what I’m trying to ask is, if you believe that cancer is from the devil, do you also believe that, say, a cold is? I am very, very astigmatic (both nearsighted and farsighted, I have some crazy eyeballs, lol) to the point of being close to legally blind without some kind of corrective lens. Is that from the devil? My sister was born with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic condition causing small stature and cognitive delays. Is that blip in her genome from the devil? She also has autism, is that from the devil as well? What about the fact that I have small nerves in my eyes (who knew, haha), which means I can’t get LASIK? Are these things all from the devil? Are all things that make us imperfect like this from the devil? That doesn’t seem right.
Thanks, Natalie! Satan is the *author* of all sickness and disease but that doesn’t mean he *sent* each sickness. For example, I wouldn’t think a cold would be a specific attack from the devil (he’d usually try something much bigger), but we don’t have to accept it, either, since sickness is still a curse. Divine health is always a right for the child of God and sickness is always part of the curse, whether or not the sickness is a direct attack from the enemy or not. Thanks for stopping by!
So, in that case, why hasn’t God healed my eyes? Why does my sister still have Prader-Willi? (I’m honestly curious to hear what you believe, I enjoy discussing different viewpoints) I’m a child of God, am I doing something wrong? Do I not believe enough?
His will must be complied with and sought after. Just like salvation — He won’t force it on you. You have to believe, then receive. If you pursue it, you’ll get it, if you don’t, you won’t. If you don’t believe it’s God’s will to heal you, you can’t receive healing. Just like with salvation — if you don’t believe Jesus will save you, He won’t force Himself on you.
Jesus already paid the price for our healing, so we’re not waiting on Him to heal us again — it’s all a matter of resting in His finished work on the cross and then our part is to receive it. I understand, though. As a child of God facing illness myself, I’ve asked the same questions. Am I doing something wrong when I’m seeking after healing? I don’t pretend to have all the answers — what I don’t know, I don’t know, but what I DO know IS working with miraculous results. (There *are* many blockages to receiving healing, among a few are doubt, unbelief, unfortiveness, etc. — you can find more info in Andrew Wommack’s book *God Wants You Well*. Divine healing is a massive subject I can’t fit into one comment.) And I do know there are a lot more people who, once they believe God wants them well, receive their healing than those who don’t.
To recap, God’s will for salvation and healing isn’t automatic. It’s not a passive thing. It must be sought after. He wants His children whole and healed, but they must pursue that — just like with salvation.
(I hope this doesn’t come across as arguing — just wanting to thoroughly answer your questions.)
Nope, not arguing at all, we’re just discussing here. (Although I really appreciate your non-argumentativeness here).
I see where you’re coming from, and while I don’t completely agree (the Catholic Church has a different standpoint) thank you so much for taking the time to explain your views. ? Have a wonderful day, Madi!
Absolutely! (I really appreciate your non-argumentativeness as well XD) Thanks so much for leaving such kind comments! Always makes my day to see something from you.
Hey! This was a very interesting post. I’ve made many papers, had many debates, and won a few on the whole Torah thing. Here’s the thing, I don’t agree. I’m not sure if I should be writing this (I hope it doesn’t offend you), but it was interesting to see your opinion and where you got it from. Iron sharpening iron over here.
I’m not offended, I don’t care if people agree with me. Thanks for reading!
Great! You’re welcome!
Great. Awesome!
Hi!!? I am new to this blog. ??? I found out about this blog from a girl I know who does a blog too.? I love commenting…sorry if I,like,blow the comments up lol….???
~Saige?
P.S.- I think you might know the gal that recommended this to me…her name is Abigail….???
Hey, Saige! I love comments so please, blow the comments up! ? Thanks so much for stopping by; I’m really glad you found the blog and it’s great to hear from you!
Do you know which blog Abigail runs? Big thanks to her for recommending this blog to you!
Lol ? I also am now reading your doll blog, too! (Actually, I commented there too ???) Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the blog….??♀️? I think it’s for college students…??♀️ If I remember I will definitely tell you! ??
~Saige?
Thanks for checking out my doll blog, too! And no problem — thanks so much! 😀
Ok, so her blog is this…..
http://welllightedcafe.blogspot.com/
She just made this particular one, she had another one…??
~Saige ?
Thanks so much!
Okay, here’s the link?…I might have to E-mail you if it doesn’t work?….
https://welllightedcafe.blogspot.com/
There we go! ?
~Saige?
Oops it did it twice lol ???
No problem! XD
No problem! 😀 I have the link to the blog….I will let you know the name when I get home. 😉 🙂
^w^
I am in love. I am actually having a very hard time with my life right now, an I looked up to God. It has been very rough, but i have been reading what you wrote and it changed all of my perspectives. I thank you so much for doing this. You have changed my world and I don’t know how I will ever be able to thank you. I think you are a really wonderful blogger, and it is so good that you can share Jesus through some simple writing. I actually have a blog and I am trying to find ways to incorporate Jesus into it, because he is the reason i am where i am, so i also need to share him in this. I also want to share the love of god with others. Thank you again. If you have any ways I could put Jesus in there please please please tell me I would love it so much. Please email me! Bye and thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my goodness Emily, I am so sorry I didn’t see this comment until just now! It really encouraged me and means a lot to me! Thank you so much for checking out my site and reading. Do you still need help incorporating Jesus into your blog? I emailed you! So sorry once again for the super late reply. Thank you again for such an encouraging comment ?
Wow! I really needed this! Thank you for sharing encouraging truth, I’ve been really discouraged trying different treatments for a chronic illness that I’ve had for many years, but I realize Jesus is and will always be the answer! Im going to focus on His finished work!!
Yes! Amen!!! Thank you for reading and commenting, Lizeth! Praying for you! ❤️