There is a quote making its way around Christian circles. Have you heard it? It’s: “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”
While others might find this to be true, I think those people are yet to go through something horrendous. They will, in their own time.
I actually find this quote to be quite false. I believe that God does give us more than we can handle on our own. He wants us to turn to Him.
This past month has only added to the list of difficult things to happen in 2020. First, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Again. And then recently, my mother-in-law passed away.
Are these things we are expected to handle on our own? How can you?
No, God wants us to turn to Him in our grief and struggles because He knows we can’t do it on our own. We cannot handle these things in life without Him for peace, joy, grace and love.
We are not meant to just “handle” the things life throws at us.
God’s word never says we will only face pleasant, easy things in life. It actually says we will struggle (John 16:33). But God is ready to step in each and every time we face trouble. In fact, He is never not with us.
God promises to never abandon us. He said in Isaiah 43:2, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (NLT).
Jesus said, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b, NLT).
Nothing we face surprises our God. He goes before us and behind us. “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head” (Psalm 139:4-5).
God walks with us in hard times. He walks with us in grief. He is close to us when we are broken-hearted. He is our perfect comforter.
And when we do turn to God in our hard times, we are unlocking a secret weapon: God’s own power.
The apostle Paul wrote about weakness and dependence. He had something he struggled with daily, aside from facing persecution and physical beating. But God told him, “‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me…For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9, 10b).
Our dependence on God to help us through our times of trouble unleashes God’s power in us. God steps in, full of grace and strength, and carries us, sustains us, and strengthens us to keep going when it seems impossible.
See, God does not expect us to just handle tough situations. He wants to help us go through them with grace and strength.
I’d like to rewrite that quote. “God sometimes give us more than we can handle, so He can give us the strength and power to walk through it.”
That’s better.
***Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
