It’s common for some Christians to say to others who suffer, “Rest assured, God will not give you more than you can handle.” But I often wonder what they really mean and whether it’s true. If what they mean is that God’s love toward us is so protective that he will never give us more than we can bear, then the statement is false. But if what is meant is that in the midst of indescribable suffering which brings us to our weakest point, God empowers and equips us so thoroughly in the inner person that we are able to bear up under it—with his strength—then the statement is true. I do not believe that God gives us only what we can handle. Instead, he intentionally gives us what we cannot handle, in and of ourselves, so that we are driven to depend upon him and the all-sufficient resources that belong to us in Christ. If God gave us only what we could handle, where would the glory be? Who would get the credit? Instead, God receives greater glory when we humbly receive the gift of suffering, since it systematically breaks down more and more of Self, so that
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