The Part Of God’s Will No One WantsShembull

More than we could handle

Have you ever heard someone say, “God will never give you more than you can handle”? I’m guessing they’re paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But trouble and temptation are two different things. There will never be an instance when we are forced into sin with no way out. Sin is always a choice, not the inevitable result of crushing temptation. But somehow that verse has been twisted to mean that we won't experience more trouble than we can bear —when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. God will often allow more than we can handle, but He'll never allow more than He can handle. In fact, my whole life is more than I can handle —that is why I need Christ!

I needed God to stay the course while I was in school. I needed Him as a single man who longed for a spouse. I needed Him when I needed a job. Now, with two kids, a marriage, friends and a great church to love and lead ... I definitely have more than I can handle. I need God when Kelly and I struggle to be “two who became one” and we’re arguing over which one of us we became! Only in His strength and wisdom can I know what is best for my family and whether or not my desires are selfish or pure. It is possible to “win the fight” but lose ground in marriage ... a lesson most of us have learned the hard way. Bottom line, this life is hard. I need God every minute of every day, because I am often faced with “more than I can handle.” Paul must have understood this when he wrote these words to the Corinthians:

We do not want you to be uninformed … about the hardships we suffered ... We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt 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. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us...