No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. 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.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)
Over the past few years, I have heard a few people say, “God will never give you more than you can handle.” I too have probably uttered this saying a few times in my own life. A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation. The person was basically telling someone God will not give you more than you can handle. I thought to myself, where does the bible say “God will never give you more than you can handle”?
I Googled, (Bible Verse “God will never give you more than you can handle”). To my surprise, “God will never give you more than you can handle” is not a verse in the Bible. If I just missed it and you know what chapter and verse it is please tell me.
Based on my understanding from the articles I read, the saying is most likely based on 1 Corinthians 10:13 where Paul is talking about temptation, not circumstance. For example, losing a job and not knowing how you will pay your bills is not the same as being tempted to gamble away your paycheck. I really like how one writer put it “the saying is conventional wisdom masquerading as biblical truth and promises what the Bible never does.”
I have been pondering this for a while now. If God truly never gave us more than we could handle then why would we ever turn to him for help? Personally, when events occur in my life that are too much for me to handle I turn to Jesus and ask for HELP as I know I can not handle it. I need Jesus to handle it for me.
I appreciate the book of Job. It demonstrates that no matter how bad things got Job never gave up on God. But could you have imagined if Job’s friends Elephaz, Bildad, and Zophar would have said, “Well, you know Job, God will never give you more than you can handle.”
I believe when someone says God will never give you more than you can handle they are trying to comfort someone, but do the words comfort or hurt especially if that person turns to the Bible and can not find those words of comfort. What if that person instead referenced something like Psalms 121:1-2 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. and encourage the person by letting them know we don’t know why things happen, but Jesus is there to comfort us at all times including this time of trouble.
This is something I am still pondering, so if you have a different point of view I am not seeing I would love to hear it.
