more than we can handle

God will never give you more than you can handle. i understand the sentiment. you say this to someone going through a hard time but does that sentiment really comfort those going through hell on earth? nope. there are things that feel like more than we can handle because, they are. cancer. divorce. the loss of a child. addiction. chronic pain. bankruptcy. legal woes. bullying. spiritual warfare.

and does God promise us that He won't give us more than we can handle?

Yeah, this is way to much for you. I am going to pull back and go easy on you, give you something you can handle on your own. I am going to keep you in the easy zone. I will never take you to a place that feels hard or beyond your ability. I will keep things cool so you never need to know what I can do. You will be comfortable. I will keep life at a slow and steady pace. Breezy and light. You will only need to pretend trust me because I will make the circumstances of life simple and manageable so you can just figure it all out on your own.

God doesn't say those things. but God does promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. He promises that He won't tempt us beyond what we can endure...because He will provide a way out. He promises to strengthen us. He promises that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. He promises that we are more than conquerers through Christ.

the biblical reality is that this life is a series of things that are beyond our control and that we cannot handle. things that are hard and even, horrific. God often gives us more than we can handle on our own so that God can win the battle through us. so we can look at that situation and say, "how did i have the strength for that? how did i come through that victoriously? who was that person who spoke those words in boldness and took that risk? where did that strength come from?" it came from God. it all comes from God. He gives us more than we can handle on our own to challenge our faith. to make us lean on His strength and rely on His provision. living a life that we can handle is boring. it doesn't show people how big our God is and the mighty things that He can do with our lives. so here's to the unhandleable things of life! Soli Deo Gloria!