Mythbusters: God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle

Welcome back for another edition of Christian Mythbusters! If you missed the first post in this mini-series, you can check it out here.

Today I’m writing on a topic that I believe is a wide spread myth among Christians and have in fact seen several Facebook posts just this week that dealt with this myth.

Myth #2) God will never give you more than you can handle. 

You’ve probably heard this saying your entire life. For a number of years I believed it—even said it to others myself.  It brought comfort on rough days or when facing difficult situations. But unfortunately, this saying isn’t true. In fact, contrary to what many think, you will not find these words in the Bible.

Truth #1: God does give us more than we can handle.

1 Corinthians 10:13 is often misquoted as a verse that supports the myth that God will not give it us more than we can handle. It says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.” However, this verse is being used out of context. You must read the surrounding text to discover that Paul is actually talking about sin. He shares that God will never allow you to be tempted by more sin than you can overcome. God is providing an escape from sin only. Paul is certainly not suggesting that painful and difficult circumstances will never come our way.

Thinking that once you become a follower of Christ that you will never have another care or experience pain is not only unbiblical, it is dangerous! The Bible actually tells us the opposite.  There are numerous instances in Scripture where Jesus tells us that we will have trouble in this world (John 16: 33). The key here comes in the second part of this verse where Jesus says “Take heart, I have overcome the world!”

Truth #2: God gives us more than we can handle on purpose. 

So why would a loving God want us to struggle and fail? Why would he allow “bad” things to happen to us? Why would he allow us to feel pain and loss? Well, how would we know what light is without darkness? How would you know what good is without evil?

Like I discussed in my first Mythbusters post, sometimes blessings come in unexpected ways. Deliverance from a difficult situation may not always be God’s plan, and we have to be able to accept that. These situations that we perceive as difficult or “bad” can actually be a part of God’s plan to shape and mold us.  I heard it put one time that He breaks us to remake us. There is something beautiful in the fact God loves too much to leave us the way we are.

God is always calling us to a deeper relationship. He is calling us to full reliance on Him and to recognize that He alone is enough. But if everything is perfect, then why would we need God in the first place? We would have no reason to rely on Him. We would never recognize that we are in desperate need of grace and love without situations that we aren’t sure how to handle.

Truth #3: God never gives us more than Jesus can handle.

The good news is that we don’t bear these burdens alone. God has provided a way out from under the weight of our sin through Jesus’ death on the cross.  In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus calls all who are weary and burdened to come and find rest in Him. We may not be able to handle situations in our own strength, but Jesus can.  

God also gives each other to help bear our burdens and shoulder some of the load. I’m grateful every day for the people God has placed in my life just for this very purpose!