MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE

Recently, I've been thinking about the saying "God will never give you more than you can handle". That particular turn of phrase is not a Bible verse or a famous quote... it's just something that someone once said that made someone else feel better when they probably just went through a rough period - and it caught on.

In my attempt to find out where it came from, I stumbled across this entry on The Bible Blogger (the writer's slogan: "the thoughts of someone who reads the Word and tries to figure out life while doing it"). I'm not sure it makes me feel any comfort, but I do find what he has to say interesting...

"God Won't Give You More Than You Can Handle" Is A Myth
Posted by: Bible Blogger on December 8, 2006 at 6:34PM EST

How often in times of trouble have you or someone around you said "well, God will never give you more than you can handle"? It's usually done in an attempt to comfort someone who's just had something pretty crappy happen to them. It could be anything from not getting a job they needed to meet their bills or a marriage/relationship breaking up or some kind of physical illness. When you're in those situations it's nice to have a friend or someone who will try and shove that misconception upon you. It means someone on Earth actually cares about you and that provides comfort. However, that belief isn't something that God really said to us in his word.

This belief seems to come from 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV): "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." The verse doesn't say God won't put you in a situation where you can't handle the burden...it says that he won't let you be TEMPTED beyond what you can bear. There is a world of difference between the two situations. It's true that God will provide a way of escape in any tempting situation regardless of what your temptation may be...sex, drugs, alcohol, shopping, food, etc. That doesn't mean he's going to take away the empty feelings or hurt or frustration. Things that can really only be filled by Him.

What does God say about situations? Well, He never directly says it but one could make a case that "God won't give you more than He can handle" is an accurate description. That comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9(NIV): "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

When we are facing painful situations it's usually because we're powerless to do something about it. We can't go out and make someone be our true love forever. (I'm not talking temporary one night things...I'm talking that kind of love you see in those romance movies on the Lifetime Network.) We can't just tell the cancer or other disease we may have to go away and it disappears. We can't walk into a business and tell the owner they're going to give us a job that will pay us what we deserve and they'll just do it. These are things that are out of our control but not God's control.

The question then becomes whether or not you'll trust God with everything and allow Him to use His strength on your behalf. It's not fun either because God's timing is not our timing. It leads to a lot of pain in our lives until we reach the point of being satisfied in just knowing He cares about it. It's hard and while someday it may get easier there are times where we feel it's too much. That you want to drink a bottle of Drano to be literally as hollow inside and you feel in your spirit. You feel as if there's nothing left for you and you want to just lay down, sleep and never wake up. I can understand exactly what you mean because I've been there as well. Almost everyone has felt that way at some point.

The only thing I can say is that God said his power is made perfect in our weakness so acknowledge the weakness and just trust that when God finally decides to move and end the trial it's going to be better than we could hope to find ourselves. Even when it seems your unending trial is about to finally conclude...and you suddenly find yourself deeper in the valley than you were before...just realize He is faithful and He is there.

May God bless you.