I can’t count the number of times that I’ve said the phrase, “I can’t take it anymore!” or ” This is more than I can handle!”


Ok, I admit it, some of those times may have been a bit unwarranted. Maybe even a little — dare I say — over dramatic. But there are other situations where the phrase can be used in a completely legitimate way.

Like when a child comes home in a frantic to go to the bathroom after ‘holding it’ all day and she misses the toilet by an inch, flooding the entire bathroom, urine rivers flowing into the hallway and pee-waves splashing up the walls. Then the dog comes to investigate while you’re trying to figure out a clean up plan, and the phone rings, then the neighbor rings the doorbell, and all along, your daughter is crying and you can’t even get your mind to stop racing to figure out what to do to clean up the mess, let alone console her!

Or like when there’s betrayal by someone that you completely trusted, and now your world is spinning in confusion and chaos as you try to figure out what is real, how to be safe again and how to move forward.

Or even when you’re on a 30-day no-junk-food-challenge and you’ve been doing so well, but you’re at a friend’s house and one of them made your FAVORITE dessert. And you’re super hungry. You’ll just have a bite. That’s all. Everyone else is. Besides, your friend made it especially with you in mind, not knowing about your personal challenge – you don’t want to offend her! Ohhhh…that chocolately, gooey deliciousness…..
Overwhelmed. Scared. Frustrated. Tempted. MORE THAN I CAN HANDLE???!!!

Yes.

So….does that mean that God would give us more than we can handle?

I hear that cliche all the time, that “God will never give you more than you can handle.” But I don’t agree with it. To some it may be semantics, but to me, something important is missing from that cliche. Here’s how I think it should be said:

God will never give us more than we can handle WITH HIM.

Sometimes I forget the last part – the most important part – and then I fall apart, because I wasn’t intended to handle life, and all that’s ‘given to me’, all by myself.

A great verse to memorize when going through the “more than I can handle” trials is Philippians 4:13. It reads, “I can do ALL things through Christ (Jesus) who gives me strength.” Pretty awesome and powerful that WITH Jesus, He will supply the strength for us to get through and have victory through those trials that are more than we can humanly handle on our own!

Another powerful verse to keep in our mind bank is 1 Corinthians 10:13. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.”

There are SO many more verses that share this same concept — that when life is more than I can handle, God is there to rescue, to provide an escape, to comfort, to give peace, to calm fears, to give strength….to HELP me handle the situations that are humanly impossible to handle on my own.

Are you facing something right now that seems like it is more than you can handle? Take it to Jesus. He’s not a genie in a bottle to run to when you have problems, but He is a loving Savior that is longing to have a personal relationship with you for the rest of your life. And He wants to handle for you, what you cannot alone. I mean, He’s been doing that for quite some time…He did give His life for us!

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