Theology Matters: God Probably Will Give You More Than You Can Handle

Theology Matters is a new series.  Theology is the study of God and what he is like.  It is important to understand correct theology because when we have false ideas about God, we will have false expectations about our own lives.  When we have false expectations about our lives, and things don’t happen the way we falsely expect them to, we have a crisis.  When we have a crisis, we either start doubting God’s truthfulness, or doubting that God even exists at all.  I hope that this series will help you identify bad theology; ultimately to help you get to know what the God who is there is really like.

We have all had something bad happen to us.  Some of us have had terrible things happen in our lives, others not so terrible, but we all have experienced some kind of crisis at some point in our lives.  When we encounter a crisis often times people who mean well will tell us, “It’s going to be okay, because no matter how bad it may seem, God will never give you more than you can handle.”  Is this really true?

I really don’t think this is true at all.  Throughout the Bible I see stories of people needing to be saved, because the predicament they found themselves in was WAY too much for them to handle.  So where does this incorrect cliché come from?  The closest thing I could find in the Bible about this is 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13:

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Clearly this verse has to do with temptation to sin, and not with difficult circumstances in life. 

You say – What’s the big deal?  So it’s not in the Bible, it can be a helpful truth to learn.  It can still be a comfort to people who are in pain.

The big deal is that it is not true, and it teaches the exact OPPOSITE of what the Bible teaches.  The Bible’s message from beginning to end is that people are absolutely and utterly helpless in terms of living a successful life.  Especially if you consider a successful life in the same way that the Bible does.

Have you ever considered the famous Bible line, “The Lord is my shepherd…”?  If the Lord is our shepherd, that makes us sheep.  I don’t know if you have ever met a sheep but here are some of their attributes: Sheep are helpless.  Sheep are not very smart.  Sheep require protection.  Sheep get eaten.  This is not a flattering description of how “self-sufficient” God considers us to be and it doesn’t pretend to be.  It is a realistic one.

Also, seriously take some time to think about people who are in intense suffering.  Do you really think telling them, “God will never give you more than you can handle.” is helpful at all?   It isn’t true.  People are overcome by circumstances all the time.  Why would lying to someone provide comfort?  On the contrary, when you use such poor theology when trying to comfort someone it is damaging.   What if things don’t get better?  What if I am completely overwhelmed?  What then? 

God DOES promise that he will be with you through any kind of trouble: no matter how bleak, no matter how hopeless things seem.  He promises that he is still in control of what happens to you.  He also GUARANTEES that you will have trouble:

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33

Notice who has overcome the world:  He, not you.  Notice how he tells us to have peace:  in Him, not in ourselves.  Friends, the bottom line is that if you rely on yourself and if you think that you can get through the difficult things on your own, and that you will overcome…no matter how many times you do, in the end, you will be disappointed.  Any theology that has you rely on yourself rather than God is harmful and quite incorrect.

Another famous section of scripture is, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”  That’s true enough.  But don’t forget the verse that comes right before it, where it describes the kinds of things he means; both the good, and the bad, “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”  (Philippians 4:12-13)

God will allow you to face things in this life that you cannot handle.  But he will never allow you to face things that He cannot handle.  This might seem like I am splitting hairs, but I ask you to meditate on this idea.  It makes all the difference in the world.