“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
According to these verses, God’s grace is sufficient and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
How many times have you felt that what you are going through is too much for you to bear?
Howe many times have you thought that you do not have enough strength to carry out what God has given you?
I have many times.
I felt this way after my wife had two miscarriages.
I felt this way when I went on my medical leave in 2007.
I felt this way last summer when we were dealing with the tragic loss of a little girl in our church.
I felt this way when a friend died in a boating accident earlier this year.
These verses remind us that God’s grace will sustain us and keep us through any circumstance.
God doesn’t give us what we can handle; God helps us handle what we are given.
No matter how bad our situation is (or how bad we think it is), we can have peace knowing that we are covered by God’s grace.
What situations have you experienced that have made you feel that what you were going through was too much for you to bear?
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Good points Kevin. A key verse, found in Romans 8:37 states “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
The answer to ‘how’ is THROUGH HIM. If you don’t have faith in Jesus Christ, then understanding how to handle trials is probably not going to make sense. When individual’s have faith only in themselves, answers and comfort fall short.
Great points Jeffrey! So true.
Thanks for sharing!
What a powerful reminder that the things handed to us are not handed at the extent of OUR limits… but to show the things which we can come through with divine guidance and assurance. Great thoughts for reflection.
Kim
Thanks for sharing Kimberly!
I do believe that God wouldn’t give us things that we couldn’t handle. There are times that we think we can’t do that, but the truth is, God would always be with us and won’t leave us no matter what. All we need is to strengthen our faith to Him and give our full trust!
Thanks for sharing Tony!
Hah! Great minds think alike. I was thinking about the accident last year and said a quick prayer. That was almost exactly a year ago, right? Also didn’t know about the miscarriages, my heart goes out to you and your wife. We’ve had several in our congregation and God always seems to come through, though it takes a lot of patience and faith. Great scripture to meditate on.
Thanks for the continued prayers Frank. Our church is still hurting in a lot of ways.
Thanks for sharing!
God is there for us all the time, but He works in mysterious ways, and i believe that everything He does is always for us, to help us grow, become stronger and wiser. Everything has a purpose.
Amen Lynn!
Thanks for sharing.
Kevin, this is such a great reminder. Because there are bound to be trials, we must have the right mindset and reminders ahead of time. Probably the best reminder for me is to focus on God and His Character instead of the circumstances around me. He is always faithful, no matter what is going on around me.
Amen Steve!
Thanks for sharing.
Great post, Kevin! I remember doing an exegesis paper on this passage for seminary a couple of years ago. I couldn’t help but think that there are times when the answer to our prayers is no. I think that this is ultimately where the prosperity gospel people get it wrong. When you turn God into a genie, you miss all of those times He is there with you even in the worst of times.
“When you turn God into a genie, you miss all of those times He is there with you even in the worst of times.”
So very true! For me my most memorable times of feeling God’s presence has been in the worst of times.
Thanks for sharing Steve!
“God doesn’t give us what we can handle; God helps us handle what we are given.” – I love this!!! That’s what His grace is all about…if we just reach out and take hold of it. I am hopping over from Saturday Evening Blog Post
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
God delivered me to the unusual vocation of caring for women/families during times of pregnancy loss and infant death, so I often hear family/friends say “God wont give you more that you can handle”. I interiorly bristle because that express phrase is not in scripture and my sons peer group (he’s now 22 and suffers from severe depression)had a BAD suicide cluster about 3 years ago.
I have had to find some sort of peace with suffering and I much prefer a philosophy closer to what you describe over the dreaded “God wont give you more than you can handle” and I will sometimes reassure families that I wont be treading on thier sacred ground to make guesses on “why” their child died.
One resource that I have found a treasure is http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html
One thing that is very common in our culture is that if a bad thing happens, we assume that the “bad quota” was filled and only good can come fully ignoring that in reality we dont know what will happen next. That thinking can set us or those we advise up for a big fall…while we should not expect doom, neither should we cause our faith to be dependent on “something good” happening next…I have cared for families who suffered 3 losses prior to having a survivor and others who have babies die from totally unrelated problems in a row. One of my recent patients lost 2 babies at term and another was murdered in infancy (if you ever want to feel profound inadequacy, have calling that mom be the next thing on your to-do list).
Lastly,this is an excerpt from a eulogy I wrote for my friends baby, her second lost at term who lived a blessed hour and donated his liver for research… “these babies help up discover and decide who we are. Learning there has been or will be a death is a crucible of pain that unavoidably brings change, and in it each mother, father, grandparent, family member is faced with deciding (consciously or not) if the pain will cause them to react in kindness and love or in resentment and bitterness. I often say that the same hot water that makes eggs hard also makes carrots soft…the difference is in how we allow the change to effect us.
I dont have to tell the people collected here how the ___ families chose to react to Flash’s challenges. Their unwavering love and commitment to their child and each other was something I can only describe as Divinely given…and in it they changed me too..I have been humbled by this experience and were I to be in similar circumstances, I only hope that I could show as much Grace and generosity of spirit as I see in them. It is a gift to be so close to real Grace in action – to live an opportunity to do the boldest thing possible – to Praise God in the midst of our very worst pain – this is something I hope you carry away with you today and don’t ever lose.
Psalm 100 tells us: Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations …
Respectfully submitted
Hi Tammy:
I totally agree with the you that this a false statement: God won’t give us more we can handle. I think this statement causes more pain than help because we feel guilty if we can’t handle our situation. We think we must not be spiritual enough or good enough.
We must be willing to listen to people’s stories and pain without trying to give them some spiritual platitude. Their pain is real and it needs to be acknowledged.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Kevin