TJNS: Never More than You can Handle

Things Jesus Never Said: 

"God will never give you more than you can handle." Or... "God only gives you what you can handle."

For as often as we say these words to one another, one would think they have to be in the Bible. But... they're not. At least, not that I can find. But please... go ahead and see if you can find. them. I'll wait...

.....

How often have you heard these words told to you? I remember many people saying them to me last year when my husband was in the hospital more often than he was not, and my dad passed away. It was meant as words of encouragement and comfort. It never worked... I usually found myself thinking "What a crock!" - which is rather funny, because I sometimes find myself offering these same words to others.

So, is there any truth to these words, even if they're not in the Bible? In my opinion, no. And I say this for a couple reasons...

God doesn't make us suffer

I truly believe our suffering is not because of God. Death, sickness, injury - these are simply a part of being human. Yes, I suppose we can blame God that these things exist, but I have often heard that when we lose a loved one, it's part of God's plan. Or, when a loved one becomes sick, it's God punishing that person, or us. I simply do not believe this.

When it comes to other suffering - abuse, rape, etc - it's the same thing. It's not part of God's plan for us to suffer. It is not God abusing us for some horrible sin we've committed. It's just the world we live in. We live in a world where love is a word that is abused and misused. We live in a world where it is easier to turn our backs on those in need... those who eventually turn into someone who could abuse or rape another.

This is all caused by simply being human in a broken world. It is not God making us suffer. 

God doesn't give us stuff we are meant to handle alone

The other reason I do not find truth in this common saying is simple. Sometimes, God does call on us to do something which is difficult, and can cause us some suffering and pain and trials. And, if we try to handle these things on our own, we simply can't. So it could be said "God often gives us more than we can handle."

But, we're not meant to handle any of this on our own. As I stated in my previous two posts, God is always with us. Unfortunately, we often forget this, assuming the feat placed before us we must do without His help. Or, we simply forget He's there. But, when we do remember, and when we do turn to Him, then the statement is true - He doesn't give us more than we can handle.

Additionally, God has placed us in fellowship with one another. He's given us each other, to help each other. He wants us to reach out to one another. He wants us to let go of the pride we have - that pride which tells us "I can handle this on my own" (which is sure to lead to failure 99.9% of the time) - and turn to others for help.

Together, with each other, and with the guidance of our Lord, we can handle anything God gives us.