There is a phrase many Christians love to use to encourage one another.
“God will never give you more than you can handle.”
That sounds familiar, right? We like to say this to a friend who’s stressed about school or work, or to someone you know who is going through a dark time. And for some reason the phrase actually isn’t very encouraging. It almost downplays our pain, and gives the impression that we can handle whatever storm we are going through, even though we’re drowning. The truth is God allows us to walk through many trials that we cannot handle. I don’t think God allows us to go through hard circumstances and think, “ She’ll be fine. She can handle it.” I think God purposefully allows us to experience some incredibly difficult trials because we cannot handle them. I think these trials are made to show us just how much we can’t handle on our own. There are things in my life that have happened that I simply cannot handle. I can’t comprehend or understand them. I can’t fix them or move on unscathed. I cannot handle any trials I have gone through or am going through. Only God can.
God walks through those difficult times with you, and that is what gets you through. No one can heal his or her own heart from depression, or abuse, or abandonment, or other terrible things that happen in life. You can’t just handle something like that. I think that’s the beauty of trusting in God and walking with Him through times of darkness. Knowing that you can’t handle the situation you’re in, but God will handle it for you, is refreshing. There is a peace about being able to take a deep breath and say, “Ok God, I can’t handle this, but I know you can.” I think we should go through trials with God knowing that He has this handled already, and we don’t have to even try. There is something so eye opening about being in a storm of life and experiencing what God is doing for you. It’s almost like you see a different side of God than you did before when everything was going smoothly, and you had a grip on life. You realize how much you need Him, and you come out stronger in faith. I think there is beauty in our trials that God helps us see in our darkness. I think God allows us to walk through times of darkness to show us how weak we are, and how strong He is, while drawing us nearer to Him and feeling His presence. I think God allows us to walk through trials that are incredibly lonely and dark and overwhelming to acknowledge that we cannot handle this, but not to worry because He absolutely can, and He will every time. God absolutely will allow you to go through something you can’t handle, but He will never put you through anything He can’t handle.
