Spiritual Heavy Lifting

In a previous life, I was a heavy lifter. Back then, I was proud of the gains I made and how much I could lift. After several years, I’m returning to my fitness journey. What used to be a warm-up weight is now my working weight. It can be frustrating sometimes that I can’t do as much on my own as I used to.

Weight lifting involves a lot more than picking up a dumbbell and squatting. To lift safely and make progress, you need to understand the basic tenets of lifting, from the vernacular to how the body works. But the most important thing to understand about muscle building is this: you cannot progress without challenges.

Spotters are essential to safely challenge your body while attempting any heavy lift. The spotter’s job is to watch you. If a weight slips or if it’s too heavy to safely return to its starting position, the spotter reaches out and helps you return the weight. Spotters help condition your body by relieving some of the pressure of heavier weights. They help you squat by using their hands to steady the bar as you adjust to the new load. They remind you when your form isn’t correct, and they catch potential safety issues before you get hurt. Many people find that a spotter’s presence gives them the confidence to take on new physical challenges.

Challenges outside of the gym, however, hit us differently. It’s difficult to see progression, and it’s easy to feel like you’re alone. An oft-repeated phrase may sound familiar: “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.”

The idea is that God won’t metaphorically take us to the gym, sit us down at a cable machine, and ask us to pull a hundred and fifty pounds. Like a good trainer, God knows what we can do and wouldn’t set us up for failure.

The problem with this adage is that there are times in this life when the challenge is insurmountable. It could be anything, and everyone’s threshold is different. For a teenager, a break-up or a snide remark may be catastrophic. For an adult, losing a job could feel like a crisis.

When well-meaning friends say, “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” they may mean God thinks the person is strong enough to handle the trial. The person with the insurmountable trial – at least insurmountable to tackle alone – may wonder, “Why does it feel like it’s more than I can handle?”

Let’s examine this phrase more closely. It is a modification of a letter from the apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, he says, “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.”

It could be easy to read over this passage and get the message that God won’t give us anything we can’t handle, but we need to remember this verse is speaking specifically to temptation. God simply will not allow us to be tempted in such a way that we cannot be victorious.

The question then becomes, if He won’t allow us to be tempted outside of our strength, then why does He challenge us with trials that we can’t lift on our own?

The answer is that He doesn’t. He’s given us a spotter to help us lift, to watch over us, and to assist: Jesus Christ.

Hardships are opportunities to lean into Jesus Christ to become stronger. Experiences help us realize that break-ups or job losses aren’t the end of the world, and when these experiences challenge us, we become stronger and more resilient. Christ wants us to become stronger so that we can move through the catastrophes in our lives. Christ also wants us to know that when we can’t take it anymore, He’s there to provide some relief.

Jesus Christ told us to “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 11:28-30).

Elder David A. Bednar said, “Consider the Lord’s uniquely individual invitation to ‘take my yoke upon you.’ In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His. As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light.”

We are not, and never need be, alone. We can press forward in our daily lives with Heavenly help. Through the Savior’s Atonement, we can receive capacity and strength beyond our own.

I know that there are times in my life when I’ve relied on Christ to do most of the lifting, and I’m grateful that God provided a loving Savior who willingly shifts the load from my shoulders onto His own.

Ami Reece is a writer putting her finishing touches on her debut novel. She manages a fledgling blog, Momisms, that reminds moms that motherhood is about practice, not perfection. She lives in the confusing place between Wasilla and Palmer with her husband and three children. She’s a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.