I have overcome the world… – John 16:33, AMP

I have heard many people quote the following proverb: “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Often cited by or to people who are going through difficult times, the saying is meant to comfort suffering people by reminding them of God’s promise to stop the pain before it becomes too much to bear.  The problem is that God has never made any such promise.

If God had made a biblical promise to rescue us before we reach our breaking point, then Job would not have sunk so deeply into depression that he wished he’d never been born. David would not have written psalm after psalm despairing of how utterly helpless he was before his enemies. Peter would not have become so frightened for his life that he was compelled to deny his Lord three times. Yet these men – and many others in the scriptures – were totally broken under the weight of the trials and tribulations they faced.

The phrase “God won’t give you more than you can handle” actually puts the emphasis on man’s strength in the face of adversity. Yet even the proudest, ablest person can be brought to the end of self-reliance, and it is at the end of self-reliance that God’s strength takes over.

In John 16:33, Jesus didn’t say, “Be of good cheer because I’ll make sure I limit your trials to match your strength.” He says instead, “Be of good cheer because nothing in creation can match My strength.” The essence of the victorious Christian life lies in accessing Christ’s power, not ours, to overcome the challenges of this life, and that is why Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13 (AMP):

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

It’s time to stop saying that “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Instead, we need to realize that “God won’t give you more than He can handle.” To lead an overcoming life, we need God to infuse us with His inner strength, and He will do just that if we will but ask Him to.

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