God Will Allow More Than You Can Handle

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“God will never put more on you than you can handle.”

I’ve heard this statement all my life.

I’ve believed this statement for much of my life.

The problem: it’s not biblical.

Nowhere in the Bible do we find a verse that remotely says, “God won’t put more on you than you can handle.”

The closest we come to finding the statement in the Bible is in 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says,

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

In fact, the Bible often teaches us an exact opposite truth from this statement.

Scripture is filled with people that had more put on them than they could handle.

Moses
Abraham
Job
Joseph
Stephen
Peter
Paul

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 says,

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. 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,

I’ve met a lot of Christians that think there’s something wrong with them because they feel that God’s put more on them than they can handle.

When the weight gets too big, they think that God hates them or has abandoned them.

They’ve believed the myth.

You do have more put on you than you can handle… by yourself.

God desires that we turn our circumstances, tough times, and burdens over to Him.

When we do so, we are suddenly no longer carrying more baggage than we can handle, we are trusting in a God that is more than capable of handling them.

No matter what your situation…

Don’t believe the myth.

Believe the Creator.

Trust that He wants your burden.

Know that you’re not alone.

17 responses to “God Will Allow More Than You Can Handle”

Benjamin Davenport

April 3

Very good point. Don’t you love all those misreadings of the Bible that generate seemingly innocent, seemingly biblical little phrases that proceed to pervade Christian culture? This one in particular produces a very wrong mindset, where we, like you said, get angry with God. Or where we want to think that we don’t need Him and can handle it ourselves. After all, He’ll give us a little bit of help when we need it, right? No – that’s so prideful of us! We are to:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

When it gets to be too much for us to bear, God wants us to cast our anxieties on Him. Not to just ask Him for help, but to let go of our control on these matters that are too much for us to handle, and throw them on Him! He can handle it!

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

It’s rather encouraging to me that we don’t have to stand firm on our own strength, but that the Lord will sustain those whom He has made righteous!

Reply
1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 3
  
  Amen! Thanks for taking the time to share that!
  
  Reply
HisFireFly

April 3

Amen Jonathan!

I’ve been realizing more and more that unless He gives us tasks that we cannot handle on our own we will continue to grab the glory for ourselves.

When the task is monumental, something only He can accomplish.. the world can see and know that He is God!

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@BlancaV

June 20

It’s just like us (me) to let go when things get really deep. Lately I’ve been determined to hang on to the hem of his garment regardless of my circumstances. Working through my control issues. :) I remind myself constantly that I must depend on him. My prayer to the Lord is to help me help myself to hang on to him through the storm. Thoughtful post as usual, Jonathan. Thanks and blessings.

Reply
1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  June 20
  
  Yeah, I think we all have that control issue thing from time to time. Hang on to Him!
  
  Reply
Sarah Salter

August 2

AMEN! I’m living this right now. Thanks, Jonathan! :)

Reply
1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  August 2
  
  You’re very welcome. Hope it encouraged you to depend on Him.
  
  Reply
Cherie Zack

September 8

Can I tell you that this has been said to me more times that I can count. If I had a nickel for every time someone has said this I would have a few hundred dollars in the bank.

My daughter Samantha has Cerebral Palsy because the cord got wrapped around her neck when I was delivering her. The cord cut the oxygen off to her brain and caused brain damage, taking the healthy little baby girl that I had been carrying for nine months. Now this in it self was more than I could handle. In fact I was in disbelief for the first few months of her life.

Hearing people tell me, “you know, God won’t give you more than you can handle” became so common in our life. At one point I thought to my self, so nice to know you have that kind of connection with God that he would tell you to tell me this. :o)

Samantha is now 22 and she hasn’t moved forward in her mental growth since she was around 5. I think people are uncomfortable with with her condition because they don’t understand it or just don’t know what to say, so they say the famous line.

Thankfully my relationship with God goes so much deeper than this and with Him I have retained a sense of humor about it.

I love your tag line, “With God”… This is the one thing I never hear from people but will correct them the next time someone meets Samantha and feels the need to remind me of my burden, even though I don’t see her as one. :)

Thanks for the post! I am encouraged and lifted!

Blessings,

Cherie

Reply
1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  September 8
  
  So glad to hear that this encouraged you…That’s why I write! Nothing is impossible with God, but many things are by yourself. Thanks for reading and commenting, Cherie!
  
  Reply
Todd

September 15

Yes, great post! God wants us to turn over our burdens to Him, and “He” is represented on this earth in the Body of Christ, the community of faith. So, we turn over our burdens to our community of faith, our church, and that is an acceptable and faithful view of turning our burdens over to God.

I think the next time a Christian tells us to “trust God with our burdens,” they should understand that they are asking us to let them, and our faith community, to help them!

Reply
Kathy Fannon

October 30

I could leave a novel (which I’m quite good at) or just say this: Thank you! I needed this today.

Reply
1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  October 30
  
  Glad it encouraged you! Hang in there!
  
  Reply
shellie

February 5

I love this post! I, too, once believed that myth. So grateful to now live knowing that He gives me more than I can handle because He delights in my dependence! Only by grace….

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debbie thompson

May 23

I’ve learned that bad times are going to happen,even Jesus endured much suffering,but it was for a purpose. His death, brought us eternal life. I try to look at what Christ did for me on Calvary and realize that bad things happen in life and through those times, God is wanting to teach us to depend, trust,and rely upon Him. Thanks for the insight.

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Scotty

July 22

Great post!

Reply
1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  July 22
  
  Thanks, Scotty!
  
  Reply
Shirl

September 26

Wow!! I am almost 55 years old, been a born again Christian since 1982. I have ALWAYS thought this phrase was scripture until TODAY!! “God will not put more on you than you can bear” –Someone told me the Bible doesn’t say that and I said yes it does and went to look it up only to find out how BAD WRONG I was and have been all my life for believing this was scripture. I was taught it was and somehow just never ran across anything to show me differently until NOW. WOW!! Thanks for the postings!! God Bless All.

Reply

JONATHAN | PEARSON

God Will Allow More Than You Can Handle

17 responses to “God Will Allow More Than You Can Handle”

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