More Than You Can Handle
You've heard the saying, "God won't give you more than you can handle!" I think so often this saying is intended to be a kind of encouragement to the recipient. Perhaps it's just one of those things people say when they don't know what to say, but they want to make themselves feel better about your situation, so they just say it. I don't know about you, but I personally haven't found that saying to be of any comfort. I've never been able to draw any kind of inner strength from it and it certainly didn't deepen or strengthen my relationship with God. It honestly felt discouraging and even added to my struggle by making God feel like a cruel jokester who saw me as his personal punching bag.
Life throws way too much our way. There's death, cancer, childhood illness, unemployment, diagnosis, chronic illness, crimes committed against us or someone we love, broken relationships, divorce, estrangement...and so much more. Any one of those experiences can suck the life right out of you, leaving you feeling emotionally crippled, wondering where God is, and why He would allow something like this to happen to you. Sometimes these are seasons we get through and sometimes these seasons bring life long heartache.
Oh friend, I don't think I need to convince you that life gives us so much more than we can handle on our own. And God? God isn't sitting up there in heaven heaping it on you because he thinks you got this and you can conquer all. He isn't testing the level of your emotional brute strength. The truth is, we can't survive the hard parts of life on our own. We need God. Those seasons of hard, heartache, and loss reveal that to us. We need God and God wants to be there for us in every possible way. He wants to comfort us when our hearts are shattered. He wants to be our strength on those days when we can't keep going. He loves us more than we can possibly imagine, He would never leave us alone to get through anything on our own strength and He tells us all of that! So the next time you're going through too much life remember this,
"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
"The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is my strength and portion forever." Psalm 73:26
"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29
None of that sounds like a God that piles things up on us because we got this - because we can handle it. ALL of that sounds like a God that loves us so much and is waiting and ready to help us through all of the hard. He is our strength and comfort if we will let Him. So, the next time someone tells you "God won't give you more than you can handle" don't listen to them. Know that God wants to be in this moment with you. He doesn't want you to carry this alone. He is your strength, your comfort, your joy. He is the only way you're going to get through.
Life throws way too much our way. There's death, cancer, childhood illness, unemployment, diagnosis, chronic illness, crimes committed against us or someone we love, broken relationships, divorce, estrangement...and so much more. Any one of those experiences can suck the life right out of you, leaving you feeling emotionally crippled, wondering where God is, and why He would allow something like this to happen to you. Sometimes these are seasons we get through and sometimes these seasons bring life long heartache.
Oh friend, I don't think I need to convince you that life gives us so much more than we can handle on our own. And God? God isn't sitting up there in heaven heaping it on you because he thinks you got this and you can conquer all. He isn't testing the level of your emotional brute strength. The truth is, we can't survive the hard parts of life on our own. We need God. Those seasons of hard, heartache, and loss reveal that to us. We need God and God wants to be there for us in every possible way. He wants to comfort us when our hearts are shattered. He wants to be our strength on those days when we can't keep going. He loves us more than we can possibly imagine, He would never leave us alone to get through anything on our own strength and He tells us all of that! So the next time you're going through too much life remember this,
"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
"The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is my strength and portion forever." Psalm 73:26
"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29
None of that sounds like a God that piles things up on us because we got this - because we can handle it. ALL of that sounds like a God that loves us so much and is waiting and ready to help us through all of the hard. He is our strength and comfort if we will let Him. So, the next time someone tells you "God won't give you more than you can handle" don't listen to them. Know that God wants to be in this moment with you. He doesn't want you to carry this alone. He is your strength, your comfort, your joy. He is the only way you're going to get through.
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