Threshold

"God will never give you more than you can handle."

How many times have you heard that statement? I used to believe it.

But then I saw my friend lose first her dad, then her husband to cancer.

And I witnessed a coworker struggling with a chronic illness that caused her severe pain every day of her adult life.

I was amazed at their strength. But they themselves admitted they're not strong. They're simply choosing not be bitter, to rely on God, and to live their lives the best they can.

"God will never give you more than you can handle" is nowhere in the Bible. On the other hand, this is:

"We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life... But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God" (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

In the letter quoted here, Paul talks about how we share not only in Christ's blessings, but also His sufferings. Even Jesus, the Son of God, bore more suffering than he could handle (Matthew 26:36-46).

God will allow you to bear burdens that are heavier than you can manage, and that's when you'll know how much you need Him.

Here are some much more eloquent accounts of how much we can handle, and what happens when that threshold is surpassed:

God will give you more than you can handle: I guarantee it

Stephen Colbert loves the thing he most wishes had not happened

Run like Keith

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." -2 Corinthians 4:7-9