Articles
No, We Can't Handle It
No, We Can’t Handle It
I’ve heard Christians say, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” Sorry, that’s not true. God gives us more than we can handle every day. To be fair, I know where the phrase came from. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reads, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” When someone says, “God never gives us more than we can handle,” they mean “God doesn’t allow us to face so much temptation we’re forced to sin.” That is true, but 1 Corinthians 10:13 does not support the blanket generalization, “God never gives us more than we can handle.”
If God doesn’t give us more than we can handle, why do we need Him at all? We can’t handle sin on our own (1 John 1:9), we don’t know how to live righteously on our own (Jeremiah 10:23), we can’t even handle temptation on our own; we need God’s way of escape! (1 Corinthians 10:13). T.S. Eliot once wrote, “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” Brethren, we’re in over our heads every day! Our true height is exposed! No, we can’t handle it, so let’s turn daily to our Lord! “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5b).
