Job 1:21 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

There is a common deceptive humanistic term given to God by the world, which if you have not heard, will hear. It is “God will never give you more than you can handle”. Christians and unbelievers alike have used this term during tragedies or hardship as a way to console those going through these things. It is supposed to smooth over a depression or anxiety as well.

In 1 Cor 10:13, Paul states that there is no temptation we could not bear or a temptation we could not be able to handle. But this is speaking to temptation only, the temptation to sin. It is NOT speaking to God giving us more than we could handle in the case of everything outside of sin.

Quoted above is what Job said right after his whole family perished, less his wife, his entire fortune taken away, his health in disarray, his friends now looking at him in a different light. You had better believe Job was given much more than he could handle. And what did Job see through this, what understanding did he come to fully realize through this tremendous tragedy? That God was sovereign through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I can say personally God DOES give us more than we can handle at times. If for example He didn’t do this in my life, I would have probably never repented of my sins, never have surrendered to Him. By these events more than we can handle, we see only Him! And by seeing Him, we know and trust fully then that He IS HANDLING it! How great a God! Yes, this is what one who has been given more that they can handle comes to know, HOW GREAT A GOD!

Tremendous tragedies occur in life. Your whole family can be wiped out in an instant. Your child can be taken away, your house burned down, your fortunes all go away, you lose your job, you lose everything. And the ONLY way you can get through these things, more than we can handle, is by the hand of God who is right there with you! Job realized this as do others, who come to realize the power and the glory of God.

It was never by self exertion, self esteem, counseling groups, drugs, your friends or family who helped you get through a terrible horrific event, it was always God. He may have used your friends and family, but it was ALL His doing which was orchestrating this. Make NO mistake, these dark events ARE more than we as humans can handle! Emotionally, physically, mentally if left on our own, we could never see the light of day again WITHOUT a loving God! Imagine how a parent who loses their child, how deep a wound this is. Ask yourself HOW they could ever recover from such a loss, how they could ever get out of bed again from the pain and distress. It is all God, by His common grace given to all.

See the HAND OF GOD! Look for it through those dark times. There is something beyond you that is sustaining you. And you will come realize how GREAT and POWERFUL a God there is!

Sometimes He will take everything away, get rid of the garbage and idolatry in our lives, so that we see ONLY Him, that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Savior, that our thoughts, our whole love, our devotion should be only to Him. That because we are sinners, we deserve nothing but eternal agony and judgment by His justice, not His mercy.

Sadly, some who have gone through terrible things, have not seen God through this. Sure, they might for a second think there was something beyond themselves sustaining them, but quickly that glory goes to others or to themselves. A guy can survive a heart attack for example, and then weeks later go back to their degenerate way of life. God showed him His hand, it was rejected once their life went back to normal. One day however, God will show this individual what He did, and what this person freely rejected, and it will be then an eternal regret and agony.

Struggling through life’s hardships? Look for God, seek Him! See His grace and His mercy! Ask yourself “what is God telling me?”. He is showing you something personal to you, He might take everything you ever idolized away, every piece of sinful garbage, everything which was leading you away from Him. He might ALSO take away the good things in our life which are also drawing us away from Him, so that you SEE ONLY HIM! Hopefully then you will come to realize how GREAT a God there is! That He is your God! That through all the good, the bad, and the ugly He is always to be feared and revered as the one true God!

The answer to the question is YES! God DOES give us at times MORE than we can handle! The focus then should be on Him, as He is the only One who could get us through those times. The fact you could be healed as time went along, it was ALL God. The fact you didn’t stay depressed and in a state of shock and disarray for the rest of your life, it was ALL God. Terrible sad things happen in a fallen world, it is only by God’s grace we survive them!

You will come to realize hopefully that you deserve nothing but agony, and then how great a Savior Jesus Christ is to redeem you from your sins! Remember, we all deserve justice, NOT mercy! If granted mercy, it is only by God’s grace not by who we are, or what we did, but flows freely from His loving heart!