Actually, Scripture doesn't teach that # 5 : "God never puts more on us than we can handle"

If you have ever gone through some trial, or suffered any form of loss, no doubt you have had some loving, sincere, saint of God put their arms around you and utter the words, “God never puts more on us than we can handle.” You may have even done it to someone else. The problem is that it is not scriptural. Not only is the phrase not found in scripture, but the concept is completely foreign to the Christian Life. We are called to be cross-bearers (matt 16:24) and we are called to suffer (Phil 3). In II Corinthians 1:8 Paul declares His own distress. “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death.” Paul was very clear that His suffering was well beyond His ability to handle it.  In I Kings 19:7 the angel of God came to Elijah with a message that the journey He was preparing to take was too hard for him. These are just examples of God’s people finding themselves over their heads in distress. The idea that God will never place more on us than we can handle comes from a misunderstanding of I Corinthians 10:13 where we are told that no temptation will come  upon us, from which we cannot escape. He is referring to temptation not troubles and trials.

We do need to acknowledge that much of our distress in this world is the direct result of our sin. David said in psalm 38:4 “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.”  Later in verse 8 He says, “I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.” God can and under certain circumstances does relieve us of the consequences of our actions but He is certainly under no obligation to do so. God has set in motion some natural laws which He by his own choice does not intervene. Scripture refers to it as the law of sowing and reaping.

Many times when we are seeking to serve God the most, we find ourselves under the attack of the enemy, Satan. There are times when God allows this to happen so that He can position us to better do His will. In the early chapters of the book of Acts we find the Christian Church under persecution which was so bad that they left Jerusalem and were scattered. As they fled for their lives they carried their faith with them and because of their persecution the Gospel spread over the known world. While Paul was in prison he wrote, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” (Phil 1:12-14)

Much of our trials and tribulations are allowed in our lives to be a reminder of our need for God and to display His power. The idea that God never allows us to go through things that we cannot handle is not only false but we could make the case that the exact opposite is true. God delights in allowing us to get into impossible situations so that when He intervenes everyone around will know that it is Him.  The apostle Paul said it best after He had prayed to the Lord to remove the thorn in His flesh. These are His words, “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:8=10) The thorn in His flesh existed for only one reason, So that the power of Christ would dwell in Him.

Probably the most emotionally and spiritually uplifting reason for the distresses in our lives is simply so the church can be the community God has called us to be. If God never places more on us than we can handle, then why would we be admonished to “Bear one another’s burdens.” (Gal 6:2) There are too many scriptures pertaining to the idea of helping one another and praying for one another to deal within this brief article. The entire concept of helping ministries, and the social ministries of the church is to meet needs that an individual cannot meet on their own. If we never faced anything that we could not handle on our own, we would be completely self-sufficient in every way which, and that is simply not God’s plan or will for our lives as believers.