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“More than you can handle.”

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life (p. 191). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

There are things that we say that sound so good and we hope they are true.

Craig says, “Maybe you’ve heard well-meaning people say, ‘God will never give you more than you can handle.’ While this sounds good and it might feel right, nowhere in the Bible does it ever actually say that. I’m almost certain most people are misquoting 1 Corinthians 10:13 when they say this. That verse reads, ‘And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.’ Clearly, we see that God won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can handle. But Scripture never says that God won’t give you more than you can handle.”

He goes on, “I’d argue the opposite. God often allows you to experience more than you can handle to teach you to trust and depend on him.”

Later he says, “Don’t believe the lie that God won’t give you more than you can handle. If you decide to start something new, chances are it’s going to be more than you can handle. When God prompts you to go start something new, he will provide you with enough grace to handle what you can’t handle. When he leads you to stop something you’ve done for years, it likely will be more than you can do on your own. So just admit it and ask him to help you. And when you’re weak, he will be strong.”

Craig says, “You might be tempted to think, I need to be strong. But the truth is it’s okay to be weak. In your weakness, his strength will be all you need. Whenever you face a storm, a struggle, some unexpected trial, just remember God will occasionally allow you to have more than you can handle. He will use trials to change you into the image of his Son and teach you to trust him. He will transform these obstacles into vehicles for his blessings.”

The Apostle Paul in his New Testament book in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV) says, “But he (God) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

And that is what we want and need, isn’t it?
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