When Life Is More Than I Can Handle - Martin Wiles

Series: The Things We Say

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT

“God won’t put more on you than you can handle.”

Many a well-meaning Christian has made this statement—or some form of it, to someone who’s going through a tough time. To a woman who has miscarried. To a man who has watched his wife walk out and leave him holding the bag—and everything in it. To the wife who has received the news that her husband has just been killed in the line of duty. Or to the child whose parents keep telling him he’s no good and will never amount to anything. 

I’ve heard it said—and maybe have said it myself in the heat of the moment before I had time to think about what I was saying. Perhaps I just nodded my head in agreement with the one who was saying it. Or agreed with the devastated person who said it themselves to me. 

This isn’t the only thing I’ve heard attributed to God or the Bible that wasn’t true—or was at the least misinterpreted. Paul had a thorn in the flesh. Opponents? A handicap? Poor eyesight? Who knows? What it was isn’t important. How he responded is. When God told Paul He wasn’t going to remove it, Paul accepted it. God assured Paul His grace was sufficient to live with it, move through it, and get over it. After all, God works best when I acknowledge my weaknesses. 

The truth of the matter is, God will put more on me than I can handle. 

If I could handle everything, I wouldn’t need God. And many don’t think they do. They use their wisdom, resources, friends, acquaintances, or addictive substances to get through—all the while proclaiming they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. 

I suppose I’ve been guilty a few times of thinking I could handle what life threw at me, only to discover I wasn’t as strong as I thought. 

I crumbled beneath the load—or succumbed to the temptation to find something, or someone, to help me get through. 

God puts more on us than we can handle so we’ll come running to Him for guidance and strength. 

So we’ll realize we were created to live life under His authority and love. 

Don’t try to handle life’s burdens on your own. God wants to lighten your load.

Prayer: Father, thank You for handling our burdens so we don’t have to labor under the load of trying to do it ourselves. 

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