You Can't Handle It

Christians want life to be easy. Many of us were sold a bill of goods when we "placed our faith in Christ". We were given a picture of the happy Christian life, a life of minimal pain and suffering.

But, it turns out that the Christian lives in the same world as the non-Christian and life is still hard. We face pain, suffering, and hardships. Life is just as hard for the Christian as it is for the non-Christian. The difference is what happens when the Christian comes face to face with a hard time.

Many give us platitudes. The most often often quoted platitude: "God won't give you more than you can handle."

Do you want to know a secret? That's not found anywhere in the Scripture.

It's complete and total baloney. God does give us more than we can handle, regularly. James writes this,

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)

"When you meet trials of various kinds..." There's no if, it's when. You can't handle the trials. None of us can. They stretch us beyond what we can bear. It's in that place of being stretched beyond what we can bear that we finally have to step out in faith. The people who spew the prosperity gospel (Osteen and his like) short circuit what real faith is. Having a deep and abiding faith means that you get to experience more and more difficult trials. It doesn't mean you're freed from them.

"Count it all joy..." says James. Why is it joyful? It is joyful because it is in the midst of the trial and the pain that we learn how to trust in God. It is in the midst of that place when we absolutely cannot handle it that we get to see God and we our faith grows.

I love the family history recorded in the Scriptures, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and the rest. They were taken beyond what they could handle and their faith and faithfulness grew as they learned the faithfulness of God.

When we go through the trials of our lives, when your friends go through the trials in their lives, do not give them platitudes. Point them to God in faith. Preach the gospel to them. Let them know it's OK that they can't handle it. They're not meant to.