God will absolutely give you more than you can handle

There are a number of clichés in the Christian world that simply need to die. One of those clichés is that God will never give you more than you can handle. As comforting as it is to hear it, it's simply not true. In fact, preaching this as doctrine may actually be harmful. Imagine a new convert who, upon being told God will never give him more than he can handle, ends up encountering something which he absolutely cannot handle. Tragically, upon having their own personal image of God shattered before their eyes, many people have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water.

The truth is, God often gives us more than we can handle. In fact, an excellent example of this can be found in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. According to Paul, he and the Apostles were "...burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life." (2 Corinthians 1:8, Emphasis mine). What these men suffered was so unbelievably difficult that they did not want to live anymore. God gave them way more than they were able to handle. But Paul goes on to explain that He did so just so that "...we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead".

Let's be honest here: A dead man cannot handle being dead. If you're dead, not even your best friend can help you. But God, with the flick of His tongue, can get you up and walking again. Trials and tribulations are the excuse humanity needs to turn to the God who raises the dead. Anything you cannot handle, give it to God, and He will handle it. Let's not have any more self-centred talk about how we can handle anything God throws at us. We're not that powerful.