"God will never give you more than you can handle."
This might sound harsh, but I vehemently disagree with the structure of the phraseology and I'll tell you why.
That phrase is the nice Christian way of telling the other people to hold on. That they will survive and it is a perversion of the common bible verse Romans 8:28 which I quote often: For we know that all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.
The problem is that we, as good intentioned Christians only look at half of Romans 8:28 and turned it into something catchy. There's no doubt in my mind that the writer of this passage Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said those words to encourage people, but I would argue that the most important part of the verse is the second half and not the first.
All things work together for the good of those that (a) love the Lord and (b) are called according to his purpose. That's the key. Countless times throughout the Old Testament God and other people inspired by God have mentioned that the wicked will fall. That in the end the good will succeed when the promised Messiah rules (aka Jesus).
So, for my unbelieving readers, I do believe that God will allow things to happen to you that you just can't handle because you're not supposed to handle it alone. You're supposed to trust in Jesus; to allow Jesus to take your bearings. Yes, you must take a lot of the pain and suffering, but your comfort comes in knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus has your back! All he wants is for you to love him. That's amazing for me.
To by Christian readers, I do believe that God will allow things to happen to you so that you just can't handle because you're not supposed to handle it alone. If you've noticed, I kept the same wording here. I don't know about you, but just because I do believe that Jesus has my back and understands my pain doesn't mean that I BELIEVE it at the time.
One of the most effective ways unfortunately for God to get to us, believers or unbelievers, is to tear. us. down. Strip away our riches in order to strip away our pride. That why the songwriting William Murphy continually asks God to empty him and that he wants more, more, and more of God. It's at those moments, God has us exactly where we wants us. Broken. Bruised. And it's that moment where we realize more than ever: I need Jesus. I can't do this alone.
And when we get out of it, we thank God for the allowance of the trials and tribulations we have in our life because we see what it did for us. So actually, I want to thank God for allowing me to take more than I can handle [on my own].
So I am proposing a rephrasing and replacing of the common cliche. Now this new phraseology probably isn't going to become very popular because it takes the owness off of me and my selfish desires and puts it on God and his sovereignty. Plus, it's a kind of depressing phrase. But if you ever feel inclined to whip out a Christian phrase, how about you try this one:
Often, God will allow us to have more than we can handle on our own so that we learn to be fully dependent on him.
How does that sound? I don't think I'll be using that as a pick-me-up anytime soon. But it's the truth ya'll.
The biggest damage that the common cliche can do is when that former phrase is used by well intentioned Christians to comfort those in pain. However, most people, do not want to hear little Sunday School phrases when they are struggling. If I was a parent and I just lost my newborn kid, that's the LAST thing I would want someone to say to me. God will NEVER give me more than I can handle? Is that so? Well I can't handle this! What justice is there in killing a newborn child?
There are countless situations that this common phrase, along with others, can do irreparable damage. The reason why we, well intentioned Christians, turn to it, is because we don't know what else to say. I mean what do you really say to the parents of the deceased? I'll tell you. Nothing. Sit there are say nothing. Sit there are show your support. Hug them and let them know that they are loved. Even if you aren't one to empathize, all people in strife want is to know that they are cared for.
If you agree with me, great! Let's change our mindsets together. If you don't, that's ok too. I am not the authority on all things so you can let me know your thoughts below. I would love to hear them.
Above all else:
LoveGod.LovePeople.
--MJA
