Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. Learn more.
If you have been around Christians for a while, odds are you have heard someone say that God will never give you more than you can handle. These people mean well. They want you to know that God cares about you. They want you to know that God is always there for you.
But the truth is that God never said that he won’t give you more than you can handle. In fact, the Bible says the opposite.
God will give us more than we can handle
Sometimes, life does get out of control. Some circumstances just happen, whether we want them to or not. We don’t choose to have someone stir up drama about us at school or have our parents get divorced. Bad things will happen to you. This is what happens in life. So, why does God allow these things to happen?
God wants us to depend on him
When you have more than you can handle, you have no choice but to depend on God. Paul, the man who wrote the letters in the New Testament, had something that was hard for him to handle. He had what he called “a thorn in his flesh”. This might have been a painful disease that kept him from doing ministry. Look at how he handled it.
2 Corinthians 12:8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.
Paul wanted relief from this pain. Paul had more than he could handle. But here’s how God responded to Paul.
2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he (God) said,“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
God wants us to trust in his power, just like Paul did. And there is an important reason for this.
God wants us to help others who are overwhelmed
God gives you more than you can handle so you can help others when they experience the same thing.
2 Corinthians 1:4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
God has given you the ability to turn your pain or sin into something useful to help those struggling around you. Instead of trying to hide your difficulties, you can let God use them to help others when they are overwhelmed with hardship. Not only that, but he will help you to see that you are not defined by your weakness, but by him. As a result, God does something great in your life.
When life is hard you can be happy
2 Corinthians 12:10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This is how Paul thought of his difficulties. You see, the more you turn to Jesus when you are struggling, experiencing hurt, or are overwhelmed, the more he can use your story to draw you closer to him.
It’s hard to give yourself completely to God when life is easy, so we can rejoice when life is hard because it’s an opportunity to trust God, experience his power, and help others.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Describe a time when you felt like life was getting out of control. What did you learn about God during that time?
- Read 2 Corinthians 12:8-9. Why didn’t God remove Paul’s thorn in the flesh?
- What does this teach us about why God allows difficult things to come into our lives?
- Read 2 Corinthians 12:10. Why should you feel happy when life seems out of control?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
