Myth Bustin'

Has anyone ever told you, "God won't give you more than you can handle"? That statement is often given as a word of encouragement when someone is facing a difficult situation. The intent is to let that person know that they can get through whatever it is that they are facing. The statement is sometimes prefaced with the phrase "as the Bible says" or some other similar statement.

The problem is that the statement is not found in the Bible. In fact, the statement isn't even true.

Part of 1 Corinthians 10:13 states that, "God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." Two important points can be made here. The first is that God is not the source of the temptation although He does allow it to happen. The second point is that this verse refers to temptations. I think that circumstances are different.

In my experience, God often gives me (or allows me to have) more than I can handle. That frequency may be due in part to the fact that I can't handle much. Paul, the author of the 1 Corinthians verse, was also given more than he could handle.

"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." - 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

The key here is to rely on God's strength, not our own. We are easily overwhelmed on our own. When we rely on God's strength, we can endure much more than we could imagine...like the ups and downs of a liver transplant journey.

Thankfully, God's strength has been with is on each step of our journey. The last part of the 2 Corinthians passage shows the needs for the prayers of others. We have had many, many people praying for Missy during her journey. God has answered many of those prayers, and we have no doubt that He will continue to answer many more. We gave up "handling" our circumstances a long time ago. Now, we "hand them off" to the only One who can do anything about it.