God Gives Us More Than We Can Handle

I’ve heard countless times through the years that, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” I’ve wondered about this statement on numerous occasions, but it seems especially perplexing when struggling to swim through the turbulent waters of a trial. When I was 22, I collapsed in a panic after losing 60% of my hearing. As a college student, I became depressed and questioned God’s plan when my dad told me he had liver cancer. When a brain disease took my mom’s ability to speak and function on her own, I battled to simply put one foot in front of the other. And in waiting on results from a recent medical diagnosis, I became almost paralyzed with anxiety.

In the midst of weighty trials, saying that I can “handle it,” feels trite and unfitting. The statement has even left me wondering if, perhaps, my faith is just weaker than another who does a better job carrying the weight of adversity that is inevitable in this life.

The phrase is based on a verse in 1 Corinthians 10:13 where the apostle Paul writes, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

In the Face of Temptation, Jesus is Able  

Many have taken this verse and inserted the word “trial” as synonymous with “temptation,” thus encouraging another by reminding them that the Bible states God will not give us “trials” beyond our ability. To interchange the two words is correct grammatically. The words “trial” and “temptation” are the same word in the original Greek language, but understanding the context of Paul’s words is significant in working out the application.

Paul is addressing the temptation – the trap – that many believers fall into with regard to idolatry. Specifically, the Corinthians are asking whether or not it’s permissible for them to join in religious feasts at Pagan places of worship. In response, Paul reminds these believers that no, they should not put themselves in a position where they will surely be tempted to worship foreign gods.

However, when we are tempted, which will inevitably happen, Paul shares these incredibly comforting words that our faithful God will always provide a path out. Always. He has given us His Spirit; we are in Christ and have all that we need to tap into the strength of Jesus in order to resist giving into temptation. When the enticement to sin stares us in the face, or when it’s deviously crouching at the door (Gen 4:7), by the grace and mercy of God, we can choose the escape that God provides. Sin is not inevitable every time we see its ugly face.

In the Face of Trials, Jesus is Able

In the same way, if we insert the word “trial,” the concept is still true of our faithful God, that He will provide a way of escape. But escape from what?

Just as giving into temptation is to turn our back on God, so the same can be true in the way we respond to hardships. We have the choice to turn away from God in bitterness when we’re confused about a diagnosis. We can choose, when we lose a loved one, to put our hand in the face of God and reject His sovereign plan– especially when it just doesn’t make sense. But God provides a way of escape from responding to suffering with a hardened heart.

Just as God has given us, In Christ, the ability to resist temptation, so in our trials, God gives us exactly what we need to endure in our faith, no matter how rough the road. There is not a hardship that will come your way that will consume you, and not because of your own strength but because God promises to give us exactly what we need just when we need it.

And there is not a hardship you will face in this life that someone has not faced before. It’s easy to assume that our personal sufferings are uniquely difficult, but the Scripture offers additional hope that no temptation, no trial or test that is bearing you down, is one that is “not common to man.” We want to have an excuse to give up on God, which is all too common in our culture, because of what we deem a distinctively difficult road. The comfort in this verse is that we are not alone in our suffering. God is faithful and has walked the mud and mire with those who have gone before you just as He is carrying you through each and every step.

When it’s More than You can Handle, Jesus is Able

When comforting a friend who is struggling, rather than reminding them that God won’t give them what they can’t handle, it’s better to say what is true about us and true about our God: we cannot handle the agonies in this life, but God can.

God will not give you anything HE can’t handle.

The beautiful reality is that most believers, when faced with a trial, give testimony to how the suffering has brought them into a deeper relationship with our heavenly Father. Author and speaker Tim Challies unexpectedly lost his twenty-year-old son. On his son’s twenty-first birthday, Challies penned a letter to his son, and He shared these intimate words:

“God has used your death to help pry my fingers off this world, to make me long for heaven in a whole new way. But he has also used it to give me new directions for life, to make me want to make the most of my time on earth. My longing for heaven is now inseparable from my longing to see you. I can barely wait…The Sage says life is a vapor, a breath, a puff, a whisper. I’m more mindful of that than ever, that each day is precious, each day is a gift to be used for the good of others and the glory of God.”

Such trials are not ones we can “handle” in this life. They’re too much to bear in our own power and strength; we are too prone to wander from Jesus. But He has provided a way of escape by giving us His son. May the trials and temptations in your life be ever-present reminders to lean into Christ like you never have before. And as you lean in, take comfort in knowing that God has not put in your path anything that He can’t handle.