When did children become an inconveniece?

[EasterJoy]

Even though I used this statement, I’ve often wondered myself where it originated from. Not saying that I don’t believe it, I do.

But the circumstances you brought up certainly do make one question it, but then that would be questioning God, wouldn’t it? Suffering came into the world with the apple being eaten by Adam and Eve. Sin brought it into the world. I will never understand why such horrendous things happen to people, but we cannot understand the wisdom of God. It is not for us to question.

As for the “they’re angry now, stressed and beating their kids”…That is not “handling it”, it is chosing to not “handle it”. A person has a choice to behave a certain way. It is one thing to be stressed, another to take that stress to an extreme and start hitting kids. I certainly realize some people have terrible sufferings, I’ve had times when I wondered how on earth I could ever endure some sufferings I’ve been faced with, and it is not easy. But, my faith in a loving God tells me all is for some reason only God knows, and I may never understand or fully know why.

If your family needs to be limited and you won’t use NFP, it is like the guy who prayed for God to rescue him from a rising flood, but waved off all the rescuers because “God will take care of me.”

Just because God won’t send more than we can endure doesn’t mean it is impossible for a Christian to bite off more than he can chew.

 

[Serap]

If your family needs to be limited and you won’t use NFP, it is like the guy who prayed for God to rescue him from a rising flood, but waved off all the rescuers because “God will take care of me.”

Just because God won’t send more than we can endure doesn’t mean it is impossible for a Christian to bite off more than he can chew.

I don’t necessarily believe that God won’t send us more than we can endure.

What about people who have nervous breakdowns?

What about people who commit suicide b/c they can’t handle “what God has gave them”.

What about children that are dying of starvation in Africa or have AIDS? These children are born into extreme poverty in large numbers.

African women don’t practice any form of birth control, so they are at God’s mercy…how can this be God’s will???

 

[Momofmyangels]

What about people who have nervous breakdowns?

What about people who commit suicide b/c they can’t handle “what God has gave them”.

What about children that are dying of starvation in Africa or have AIDS? These children are born into extreme poverty in large numbers.

African women don’t practice any form of birth control, so they are at God’s mercy…how can this be God’s will???

But, God knows all of these scenerios and He sends a child anyway. Why? I just don’t know. What I do know is that we are co-creators with Him. He plays a huge part. Is He failing when He sends a baby in a situation we would otherwise think is unwise to bring a baby into? Since he is All-perfect, how can this be? Please don’t bite my head off for this and I am certainly NOT trying to start an arguement. I am truly agonizing over this right now in my own life.

I have a “grave reason” (according to most) for avoiding any more children. For the first time in our 11 year marriage, we are practicing NFP. Not that anything is wrong with it, we just have not felt the need. At first, I was fine with it. I did the research and talked with many people who use it for morally correct reasons. But, as time went on, month after month it became increasingly unsettling to us to continue to use it. It was bothering us so much that we went to have a talk with our priest, whom we love and trust dearly and…he told us to get a tubal ligation! Needless to say, we DID NOT go that route, but where does that leave us? There is no other priest I would have trusted with this. So, we are back to square one. Since God knows all isn’t it OK to just have trust?

Others have posted that you can abuse the “leave everything up to God” and I get that. In Easter Joy’s post above about the guy and the flood…I never heard that but it sounds like he was just ignoring the fact that the help was coming from God but in the form of rescuers. That is different than trusting in God, I think.

 

[Consecrated]

African women don’t practice any form of birth control, so they are at God’s mercy…how can this be God’s will???

Do you not see what you have said here? that it can’t be God’s will for a women to be at God’s mercy? I don’t understand… what better place could there possibly be for a women than at God’s mercy? He is all-loving, He can be trusted with the “big picture” and the little details. The suffering that entered the world with the sad sin of Adam and Eve has become sanctified by the blood of the Lamb. There is more to existence than just what we encounter in THIS world… who are we to say that the poor abused children and women in sad third-world circumstances don’t experience that must greater relief in the bosom of the Trinity in Heaven? This is of course NOT to say we don’t owe those women all the material, emotional, spiritual help we can. And it could be helpful to them to learn a form of periodic continence to be practiced in their marriages. I don’t think it’s wise to second-guess the lives already created, nor is it wise to think we know better than God on what lives “ought” to be created. Although God chooses to work through the free-will actions of a man and women to create a new life, HE is still the ultimate Creator of that life.

Blame should be properly placed. If a child is abused, the blame lays in the abusive actions, NOT in the fact that the child was created in the first place. If the child is born into abject poverty, the blame should be placed on those responsible (if any) for the poverty, NOT on the fact that the child was created in the first place. Etc. So am I being just as clear as mud?

 

[Rach620]

Rach, thank you for the thoughtful post in your reply #175. I can totally see Deus Caritas Est having been written in the context of TOB. I’ll go ahead and say I’m not convinced from what I have read so far that this particular document deals with NFP (or periodic continence) at all. But I’m definitely willing to look into it a little more and see if I’m wrong. The way you’re explaining it is very interesting.

No, it doesn’t deal with NFP/periodic continence explicitly, but it does deal with spousal love and the need for the eros spouses have for one another to be somehow purified by agape. I’m not suggesting that periodic continence is the only way to accomplish this, but if we turn to JP2, it’s clear that he thinks that it is one way that spouses’ love for one another is purified. That’s the only point I was trying to make–that there is this positive account for NFP/marital abstinence to be made.

Avoiding pregnancy with NFP is not viewed by the Church as the least desirable course of action, acceptable in only the gravest circumstances and to be used with deep regret. I’m not saying that you think that this is true, but there are many Catholics who take this attitude, and frankly it’s not backed up by the Church’s teachings on the matter.

I would say that every couple who is, in fact, using NFP in the way you’re describing is trusting God.** It’s the “if” in the bolded part above where the issue gets tripped up, I think.** It’s one of those things, I’ve said it before I know but the couples have to be completely honest with themselves since the Church has essentially left it up to their own discernment.

Yes, what we have been talking about on this thread, it seems, is the problem of discernment. The recent point I’ve been trying to make is that ALL married couples are called to prayerful discernment of God’s will for their families–using NFP or using nothing at all are just the practical routes they feel called to take to accomplish what they have discerned is God’s will for their families.

If an NFP-using couple is NOT discerning of God’s will for their lives and they are using NFP as a means of control for themselves over their own childbearing, without regard to God’s will for their families, then this is a problem. I’m sure this happens. But just as it’s not for me to judge the prudence of families choosing not to prevent pregnancy in grave circumstances, it’s not for me to judge whether a couple is using NFP without justification. The reality is that none of us is in a place to judge another couple’s discernment process. We can think of a list of things that are “not grave,” but I still don’t think that strangers on the internet can possibly know whether one couple’s stated reason is “serious enough”.

All that said, I do think it’s helpful to discuss one another’s reasons for avoiding or achieving pregnancy, just because hearing others’ stories can help us take a hard look at our own lives and reflect on our circumstances anew in prayer. I know that many of my attitudes in this area of life have been shaped by seeing the example of friends and by speaking with so many people here on CAF who set holy examples of married men and women seeking to do God’s will. I think it’s healthy to challenge one another (ie, “perhaps a vacation is not a serious reason? perhaps that degree of poverty is not a serious reason?”), but unhealthy when we **judge **one another, or when we see our own personal discernment as “the rule” for all other people…which is where all too often these discussions, IRL and on CAF, go.

I wasn’t trying to cast judgment on anyone in this thread…and I know that all of our own experiences of this judgment deeply shape our opinions on the subject. But I think it’s really important for all of us here, who are, by my reckoning, married women trying to discern God’s will for their families and welcome children from Him as He wills, to discuss the different, varied ways in which we can follow God’s will with His blessing–and the Church’s.

I’m glad you haven’t run into it! But advocating NFP to avoid in itself (ie: favoring NFP when the choice is NFP vs. no birth control at all) is definitely out there. …
Persoanlly, I am concerned that some young couples who never intended to use *anything *to actively avoid might be convinced to consider avoiding simply because of the way NFP is frequently presented.
.

It really is a complex discussion, isn’t it? I think that our conversation recently on this thread has turned to the favoring NFP when the choice is NFP vs. no birth control at all, and I want to be clear that this is not what I intended. As I’ve said a few times, I think we’re focusing on the wrong thing if we’re just talking about NFP vs no NFP. What we should care about is couples’ discernment of God’s will for their families. We need to encourage one another in an authentic spirit of discernment of how we are called to open ourselves up to His will, rather than focus on how we are different in our ways of understanding and following it. If God does not will for someone to use NFP to avoid pregnancy and they use it to avoid pregnancy, then they are not following His will–it’s not that NFP is “at fault,” but that the couple simply has not listened closely enough to God’s call.

 

[Momofmyangels]

Although God chooses to work through the free-will actions of a man and women to create a new life, HE is still the ultimate Creator of that life.

EXACTLY. Just the point I was trying to make. Thank you. Ultimately, without God, there will be no new life, regardless of what we try to do to accomplish otherwise. So, when God decides to send a new life in circumstances He understands a whole lot better than us, who are we to question it?

 

[EasterJoy]

I don’t necessarily believe that God won’t send us more than we can endure.

What about people who have nervous breakdowns?

What about people who commit suicide b/c they can’t handle “what God has gave them”.

What about children that are dying of starvation in Africa or have AIDS? These children are born into extreme poverty in large numbers.

African women don’t practice any form of birth control, so they are at God’s mercy…how can this be God’s will???

Look at the Cross. How can that be God’s will?

It isn’t the bad thing that is God’s will. God’s will is to be found in what God can do with anything that happens to us or is done to us, if we are faithful. He never allows a situation through which we cannot remain faithful. That doesn’t mean the situation won’t hurt us or even kill us. It doesn’t make every situation into a good situation. It means there is no situation that will inevitably defeat us, that we should not take having to endure evil as an abandoment, even when it feels that way to our depths. There is always a victory available in the Lord.

Back to the thread, though, there are objectively bad situations that can be morally avoided by couples, through the use of NFP. That doesn’t mean we have guarantees. It means that we have a way to row away from the rocks, when there are rocks. When the ship can sail safely, though, well, that is what ships are made for.

 

[ac_claire]

I don’t necessarily believe that God won’t send us more than we can endure.

What about people who have nervous breakdowns?

What about people who commit suicide b/c they can’t handle “what God has gave them”.

What about children that are dying of starvation in Africa or have AIDS? These children are born into extreme poverty in large numbers.

African women don’t practice any form of birth control, so they are at God’s mercy…how can this be God’s will???

Here’s a link to an AAA question: [ http://forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=345456](How are we to explain suffering?). The apologist’s answer has several other links that might be useful.

 

[ac_claire]

I don’t necessarily believe that God won’t send us more than we can endure.

What about people who have nervous breakdowns?

What about people who commit suicide b/c they can’t handle “what God has gave them”.

What about children that are dying of starvation in Africa or have AIDS? These children are born into extreme poverty in large numbers.

African women don’t practice any form of birth control, so they are at God’s mercy…how can this be God’s will???

Here’s a link to an AAA question: How are we to explain suffering?. The apologist’s answer includes a few other links that also might be helpful.

 

[gretahope]

Look at the Cross. How can that be God’s will?

It isn’t the bad thing that is God’s will. God’s will is to be found in what God can do with anything that happens to us or is done to us, if we are faithful. He never allows a situation through which we cannot remain faithful. That doesn’t mean the situation won’t hurt us or even kill us. It doesn’t make every situation into a good situation. It means there is no situation that will inevitably defeat us, that we should not take having to endure evil as an abandoment, even when it feels that way to our depths. There is always a victory available in the Lord.

Back to the thread, though, there are objectively bad situations that can be morally avoided by couples, through the use of NFP. That doesn’t mean we have guarantees. It means that we have a way to row away from the rocks, when there are rocks. When the ship can sail safely, though, well, that is what ships are made for.

You and others have done a great job explaining how God uses suffering, etc…and I do agree that God in His incredible, sovereign way can take big messes and use them.

I think, tho, the point Serap and I were trying to make is that the exact quote people use “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle” is not in the Bible and is not applicable therefore in any clear, helpful way as applied to suffering people. As was said, if someone is starving to death…this doesn’t help. Yes, they may go straight to paradise…but that phrase makes no sense, really then.

Back to the subject of children…I know a woman whose parents were borderline retarded, extremely poor. They had I think 10 to 12 children. Because the mom didn’t go to prenatal care she just tried to have them at home and live with the consequences. Some of the kids ended up retarded/mentally disabled , and my friend ended up in an abusive foster situation. Yes, God used a wonderful family to “adopt” her at age 18 or so…and she’s great now…but anyway, we live in a broken world. We’ll never know why/how God works, really , until heaven. But to use the phrase above to people who are not capable of knowing how to take care of themselves, who continue to have more and more kids…it’s just what happens…and that;s NOT to say God doesn’t use it tho.

 

[ac_claire]

One of the most-used phrases in this thread (on all the NFP threads, actually) is “prayerfully discern”…I am just genuinely curious as to what this means, exactly. What does it mean, and how does a couple do it? And having done it, how does a couple know that what they have “prayerfully discerned” is the right thing to do?

From talking to my husband about it, the closest thing I can come to is it’s a more modern version of following one’s conscience. Any thoughts on that? (agree/disagree…?)

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

A couple of relevant quotes:

“God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with
the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).

2367
Called to give life, spouses share in the creative power and fatherhood of God.154 " "Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life and to educate their children; they should realize that they are thereby cooperating with the love of God the Creator and are, in a certain sense, its interpreters. (I add: note how married couples are cooperating by transmitting life and educating, thus NFP is not necessary to become “in a certain sense, its interpreters”)

2371
"Let all be convinced that human life and the duty of transmitting it are not limited by the horizons of this life only: their true evaluation and full significance can be understood only in reference to man’s eternal destiny."161

From JPII’s Mass on the Mall in Washington:
“…parents will remind themselves that it is certainly less serious to deny their children certain comforts or material advantages than to deprive them of the presence of brothers and sisters, who could help them grow in humanity and to realize the beauty of life at all its ages and variety”

“Human life is precious because it is a gift of a God whose love is infinite; and when God gives life, it is forever. Life is also precious because it is the expression and the fruit of love. This is why life should spring up within the setting of marriage and why marriage and the parents’ love for one another should be marked by generosity in self-giving. The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort, and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish”

From an Address of Pope Pius XII to the Directors of the Associations for Large Families of Rome and of Italy, January 20, 1958

"But God also visits large families with His Providence, and parents, especially those who are poor, give clear testimony to this by resting all their trust in Him when human efforts are not enough. A trust that has a solid foundation and is not in vain! Providence – to put it in human words and ideas – is not a sum total of exceptional acts of divine pity; it is the ordinary result of harmonious activity on the part of the infinite wisdom, goodness and omnipotence of the Creator. God will never refuse a means of living to those He calls into being.
The Divine Master has explicitly taught that “life is worth more than food, and the body more than clothing” (cf. Matthew 6:25). If single incidents, whether small or great, seem to contradict this, it is a sign that man has placed some obstacle in the way of divine order, or else, in exceptional cases, that God has higher plans for good; but Providence is something real, something necessary since God is the Creator. "

 

[shannyk]

Allow me to interject a question or two in this very interesting discussion ladies, and gents…

Is there really a significant difference in a couple using NFP (which is really just knowledge of how the female body works) vs. not using NFP? (BTW I think ‘providentialist’ is a very inaccurate name for the non NFP using couples). In both cases it’s God’s design for women’s bodies and the marital act that are being trusted in. One couple is simply availing themselves to the knowledge of God’s design to aid in discerning when to abstain, and one is trusting in the design and abstaining…whenever they feel like it (or not). They are both being ‘open to life’ equally, since we know that marital acts during non fertile times, whether they are known or not, are unitive and procreative, and properly ordered.

"But God also visits large families with His Providence

What is meant here by “large families”? how many children?

“God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with
the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).

Do you think using the signs of a woman’s cycles to lessen the amount of abstinence a couple endures (aka NFP) could be considered “a way out”?

From JPII’s Mass on the Mall in Washington:
“…parents will remind themselves that it is certainly less serious to deny their children certain comforts or material advantages than to deprive them of the presence of brothers and sisters, who could help them grow in humanity and to realize the beauty of life at all its ages and variety”

This is a quote I really relate to being from a ‘large’ (if seven is large) family that had very very little in material things. Most of the things I had as a child were gifted to me from relatives or from charities, my parents were able to do little but feed us and keep a roof over our heads, and come to think of it they did that with the help of others much of the time. My mom in particualr was a great example of being open to God’s will, since she was told her health was too poor to endure any more pregnancies after she had me, and she went on to have 6 more children. I am VERY grateful she did, as my siblings are some of my best friends and have really made me who I am.

However, my parents were not on a mission to have a large family. They accepted us ONE unique person at a time. There seems to be a trend on one side, away from this, and on the other side, towards it. I feel like in circles where NFP is touted, there is more of an emphasis on accepting each child as they come, breastfeeding (which has long been accepted by the Church as the biological norm not the ‘ideal’ as the breast is best slogan would have us believe) them until natural weening (whether or not that confers a delay in return of fertility) and recognizing the real needs of babies and toddlers, including really needing to be close to mom for the first couple of years. On the other ‘side’ (for lack of a better word) it seems to be less about individuals and more about numbers. I know mom’s who really feel you don’t have a family unless you have 6 plus children. One friend in particular is (and she will admit this) trying like heck to have a big family so she can fulfill her dream of being ‘that mom’ with all the kids. Is she open to more children for the right reasons? Is her and her husbands not using NFP more trusting and faithful than the NFP using couple? BTW way these ‘sides’ are just what I’ve observed, so I’m not even saying they exist on a grander scale, it’s just an example.

I dunno if that makes sense…it’s late…:yawn:

 

[gretahope]

A couple of relevant quotes:

“God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with
the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).

I looked at 5 different versions of the Bible and they all say God won’t let you be “tempted” or “no temptation has overtaken you but what is common to man” - etc.

We have to be very careful with this one and its true interpretation. People physically suffer and die daily-- they got their “way out” in death…but didn’t “bear up under it” nor maybe did they ever see an improvement in their situation. (many saints) But with the word temptation it makes perfect sense.

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

Gotta go but really quick:

lifeisbeautiful;6831563:

A couple of relevant quotes:

“God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with
the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).

I looked at 5 different versions of the Bible and they all say God won’t let you be “tempted” or “no temptation has overtaken you but what is common to man” - etc.

We have to be very careful with this one and its true interpretation. People physically suffer and die daily-- they got their “way out” in death…but didn’t “bear up under it” nor maybe did they ever see an improvement in their situation. (many saints) But with the word temptation it makes perfect sense.

From the Vatican’s web site:
vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PZF.HTM
13.
No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

QUOTE=ac claire;6828385]

I would say that every couple who is, in fact, using NFP in the way you’re describing is trusting God. It’s the “if” in the bolded part above where the issue gets tripped up, I think. It’s one of those things, I’ve said it before I know but the couples have to be completely honest with themselves since the Church has essentially left it up to their own discernment. What I think some of us are talking about, (using an online example here) is the number and frequency of threads on this forum, for instance, where people will post about wanting to use NFP to avoid because they want to start their marriage off with several years of no children just so they can have fun and “get to know eachother” more. And things like nicer cars and better vacations are mentioned, etc. And then these same posters will justify themselves by saying that this is what they have “been called” to do, and who are we to say that their issues aren’t “grave and serious”?? etc. And indeed, we can’t. Not really. And even more than the online examples are the IRL encounters many of us have had with family, friends, church acquaintances, etc. who talk about their own experiences and feel free to comment on ours. I had no opinion about any of this before I got engaged and started seeing it/hearing about it for myself.

QUOTE]

I just wanted to touch on this part.

I think NFP(to avoid) users mostly do so because they want to do the right thing in the eyes of the Lord, learned through the Church. I assume that NFP’ers are being as obedient to the Church as possible. I assume that because, our society is bombarded with the message of contraceptives. There is a commercial that comes on for an IUD. It shows a frazzled mom with two naughty kids, and a Dad reading the newspaper as his kids play. She says, 2 is enough.

I’ve been married almost 13 years. We haven’t used contraceptives for nine of those years.

We have regretfully used contraceptives…partly in ignorance, mostly for convenience. I personally see the difference between using contraceptives and using NFP.

When using contraceptives, the “marital debt” (love that phrase, btw) is always expected to be delivered. But payment is in the form of a "check with non sufficient funds " , the removal of our fertility. The marital embrace had no consequences. If you ever watched Mass on EWTN, Father Shaughnessy (no longer there) gave a homily on contraception. He called it, mutual masturbation. Unfortunately, I have the personal knowledge that, yep, that’s what it is.

In the beginning of our marriage, we fought about sex often…basically the frequency. There is a weird disconnect about wanting more frequency while simultaneously not wanting a child.

If most NFP’ers were being selfish in their reasons to abstain…that selfishness would rear it’s ugly head pretty quickly. When a couple loves one another, truthfully and honestly , it is a BIG SACRIFICE, to abstain. It’s not like there is no desire for each other. The desire is still there…and probably more so on the days we should avoid. But we sacrifice that longing, and we offer it up, with the hope that this is what God wants for us.

We’ve been selfish…I honestly can say, we are not being selfish now. When we were contraception it was, “I don’t want to be pregnant. I don’t want a baby.”
Now when we avoid it’s because we are thinking of all the possibilities, and how we need to be prudent, for our own health, for the health of our future baby, and for our family life in general. But, if it were to happen that we should conceive agian, that baby would be soooo loved and welcomed.

I also like to think this. My DH and I are faaaaaaar from being the perfect Catholic couple.

I’m sure there are many more devout couples…and more devout couples using NFP than us. If we aren’t being selfish, than I can assume that they are not either.

Hope that makes sense, sorry for the book.

 

[Momofmyangels]

lifeisbeautiful;6831563:

A couple of relevant quotes:

“God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with
the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).

I looked at 5 different versions of the Bible and they all say God won’t let you be “tempted” or “no temptation has overtaken you but what is common to man” - etc.

We have to be very careful with this one and its true interpretation. People physically suffer and die daily-- they got their “way out” in death…but didn’t “bear up under it” nor maybe did they ever see an improvement in their situation. (many saints) But with the word temptation it makes perfect sense.

Regardless of your interpretation of this with the word temptation or not, the bottom line is God sends a baby when He wants to send a baby. Pure and simple. He knows more than we know and again, who are we to question His wisdom? We could continue an endless debate about this but it would get us nowhere because the human mind cannot ever come even close to understanding God’s wisdom. It suffices for me to put my trust in God and try to alleviate the sufferings of my fellow man the best way that I can.

 

[budgie2]

Ok first let me say that I’m single. I chose not to have children without being married and now it’s more than likely I will never have any but still I have to say I find all these threads about NFP troubling. It’s like everyone is out to do what they can to avoid children. I’m not for having 15 or 20 like the Duggars but whatever happened to the families of 5 or six kids. It’s like three became the norm and now only one or two is?? Just looking for thoughts on this. Do you think we’ve all lost focus on more important things?

You don’t know why anybody has a small family. In my family, my dad was an only child because his mum aborted two and sold two children and he was the only one left. So don’t copy anybody else and have as many children as you want. Nobody knows the in and outs of another person’s family, but sometimes children are bumped off, other times the parents are naturally infertile or the children could be IVF.

 

[ac_claire]

Hope that makes sense, sorry for the book.

Yes it makes sense, thank you for the reply.

 

[EasterJoy]

I think, tho, the point Serap and I were trying to make is that the exact quote people use “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle” is not in the Bible and is not applicable therefore in any clear, helpful way as applied to suffering people. As was said, if someone is starving to death…this doesn’t help. Yes, they may go straight to paradise…but that phrase makes no sense, really then.

What would you think if some poor suffering person were to hear this?
“…Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh…” Luke 6:20-21

“Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall. No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Cor. 10:13
The verse does not refer to suffering, but to temptation, and particularly to idolatry. It means that we should neither presume upon nor despair of our ability to follow God’s laws.

Besides, even if you can’t find something stated as such in the Bible does not mean that it “is not applicable therefor in any clear, helpful way”. The idea that there is no suffering that may not be endured with God’s help comes from many “applicable” places, especially the writings of the saints, such as St. Teresa, a Doctor of the Church:

“Let nothing disturb thee;
Let nothing dismay thee;
All thing pass; God never changes
Patience attains
All that it strives for.
He who has God finds he lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.” St. Teresa of Avila