More Than I Can Handle

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"God will never give you anything you can't handle, so don't stress it." 
-Kelly Clarkson

I've heard this stated two or three times this week alone, by some precious fellow believers. I know their heart was well-intended. I know they meant this as a point of comfort. It's an easy statement to speak and an easy one to swallow. It's one full of surface-love and quickly digestible morsels stemming from a desire to relate God's love with human suffering. Surely a loving God wouldn't bog His creatures down with hardships and pain that they're not strong enough to push through, right? Surely He made us strong enough to get through anything life pushes on us... Right?

So we say so. We proclaim such. We speak these very words out to every hurting, grieving, sick, broken soul we come across. "Don't worry, God will never give you more than you can handle. So obviously you're going to get through this. He made you strong enough... you've got this." We puff out our chest and we stick up our nose- "We've got this. We're strong enough."

I was once one that believed this same theology. I believed that I was spiritually strong enough to get through anything. I believed that the Lord would never fill my plate with more that I could juggle and balance at one time. I had this.

The Lord changed the way I view this statement, He changed the way I view His love and my own strength. He showed me how arrogant this phrase is... how wrong I was to think this way.

Go ahead and turn in your Bible to where the passage supporting this phrase is found. Google it, index search it, pull it out from memory- but go ahead and turn there. I'll wait.

I'm still waiting.

I'll give you a clue... you're never going to find that phrase in Scripture. It's not in there. 

If you did decide to google search it, probably the top few articles you found cited 1 Corinthians 10:13.

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it." (NIV)

 This portion of scripture is often used to support the phrase in question. "He will never let you be tempted beyond what you can bear... He will provide a way out so that you can endure it." The problem with using this verse as support is that to do so requires you take it entirely out of context. The beginning of chapter 10 speaks a warning to the church of Corinth to avoid idolatry, grumbling, and sexual immorality. The chapter is a warning to flee from temptation, to flee from laziness and passivity in our walk with Christ. Verse 13, specifically, refers to that temptation. It references that, as believers, no temptation is more than we can overcome. It's a verse of encouragement; exhorting believers that we do not have to succumb to temptation and sin, but rather that the Lord will always provide a way out from it. It's not talking about hardships at all. 

You can keep looking through Scripture, but you're not going to find any verse in there proving that God will not give us more hardships than our own strength can manage. You're just not. You will, however, find statements that voice quite the opposite.

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you..." (NASB)
-John 15:19-20

 Jesus Himself promised that, if we are following Him, we will be persecuted. Persecution doesn't sound warm and friendly, and all around the world it has proven to result in every physical horror imaginable- including death itself. I don't know about you, but that sounds a whole lot more than my strength can handle... 

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
-Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV)

Here is yet another example of Jesus promising persecution and "all kinds of evil" to those who follow Him. There is no statement that we will be saved from this if it gets too hard or that we will be spared these terrible things if we have too much on our plate already. 

"...that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass and just as you know."
-1 Thessalonians 3:3-4 (ESV)

"destined for this"... Here Paul is writing encouragement the the Church at Thessalonica to stand firm under the trials and afflictions they were currently undergoing and were expected to face yet. He reiterated a promise of difficult times, never once promising a life of ease for the Church. 

Trust me, there are numerus more I could list here. I do so, not to discourage you, but to pose an alternative viewpoint for you. Believer, readjust your gaze. Stop viewing the Christian life as one of ease. Stop proclaiming your own power over your circumstances. God never once promises that you can overcome this stuff on your own. He never tells you that you will be strong enough, smart enough, resourceful enough, or healthy enough to handle life; AND God never tells you that He'll wait until your life is controllable to allow you to experience these hardships. 

"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:7b-10

This, Believer, should be the source of our hope. God *does* give us more than we can handle. He, frequently, will allow our life to feel overwhelmed to the point that we are no longer able to manage it on our own. Why? Because when we are able to handle it, then we feel empowered to claim that victory as our own. It breeds arrogance within our soul and we grown conceited, prideful. However, when the Lord allows us to be overwhelmed with life's circumstances- when the pain, sadness, sickness, loneliness, hurt, betrayal, financial strain, or whatever it may be seems to overcome us, we are brought to a place where our strength ends. This place, this dark, confusing, desperate place is exactly when our stubborn soul finally calls out to the Lord for His strength. When we are at our wits' end, Christ steps in. It is in this place of weakness and vulnerability that God's power takes over. "My grace is sufficient for you... My power is made perfect in weakness." 

Scripture tells us, in Luke 8:43-48, about a woman that had been bleeding for over 12 years. Now, we discussed this dear woman in a previous blog, but I mention her again for a purpose. This woman, unamed as she was, had a terrible ailment. 12 years of bleeding, no reprieve, no slowing, no real sign that she was getting better. That's a long time. Historically speaking, a woman in Bible times that was bleeding was considered unclean; unclean individuals weren't able to enter the temple. So this woman had spent a dozen years under this messy illness and hadn't been able to seek any of her religious help. She felt alone. Scripture tells us in verse 43 that she had sought out numerous physicians, but none had been able to cure her. This woman had literally exhausted every angle of her own power attempting to fix herself. Nothing worked. This issue was most certainly more than she could handle in her own strength.

Scripture goes on to tell us that she was drawn to Jesus. Her spirit was drawn to His and she knew He could fix her. She reached out, in pure faith, to touch Jesus's garment- just the hem of it- and she was healed. Jesus knew exactly what happened; He knew cuz He was the very God that drew her in- and he called her "daughter" (verse 48). He told her that her faith had made her well. 12 years of unclean bleeding. 12 years of doctors. 12 years of being isolated from her religion. 12 years of trying to fix herself out of her own strength and in that one instant she was healed. 

Psalms tells us that even in the darkest valley, The Lord will not leave us. He will be there to be our strength and comfort-

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
-Psalm 23:4

There is a beautiful opportunity for the broken and overwhelmed Believer to lean into the Lord and trust Him. Reach out and touch Jesus's garment. In the place where we find the end of ourselves, we can only rely on His grace, His strength, His power to get us through. Touch His garment. The story then becomes one of "look what God did" as opposed to "look what I overcame." I propose, Believer, that Scripture refutes the narrative of "God never gives us more than we can handle" and rather states "God allows us to experience more than we can handle in order that we have no choice but to trust and acknowledge His handling of it." 

So, Believer, next time you find yourself- or meet another soul- in desperate need of hope. Tell the narrative of human weakness. Proclaim the beauty of desperation. Share the good news of a soul in brokenness and the strength, power, hope, grace, and beauty of God's love. Tell them how you were blind, but now you see. How you were lost, but now you're found. How you were bleeding, but now you're healed.

Spurgeon wrote- "Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, Divine Love would have put you there." 

In other words, if any other path in life would've brought you to the place of sanctification God has for you, His love would've had you walk in that. But it didn't. He loves you enough to have you walk through the stuff that's too hard for you, in order to prove His power and grace to you. Trust Him in that. Touch His garment. 

Life is more than I can handle, it's more than you can handle; but never, ever, will it be more than our God can handle. Trust Him and allow Him to handle it.

"1 I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain:

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

2 Thro' this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. [Refrain]

3 When my feeble life is o'er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o'er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. [Refrain]"
-Just a Closer Walk With Thee

Baptist Hymnal, 1991