You know, try as I might, I just can’t get the expression “God won’t give you more than you can handle” to go away. As previously stated on this blog, this cliche has no basis in the Bible. It comes from a mangling of 1 Corinthians 10:13, distorting the original verse beyond recognition. Lately though, when I hear it, I’ve been flipping it around:

We can’t give God more than God can handle.

If God truly is all-powerful and all-loving,
if God is the creator and sustainer of all time and space,
if God is good beyond any human measure,
then God can handle our deepest questions and most difficult emotions.
God can handle our tears.
God can handle our anger.
God can handle our panic.
God can handle our doubt.
Whatever it is, there is no shame in bringing it before God and sharing it openly.

So does God give us more than we can handle? Hell if I know, but my working hypothesis is the world throws plenty of stuff our way we could never handle on our own. Still, in our weakness, God is strong and cries right along with us.

We may not be able to handle the situations we encounter,
but we can always vent or cry or yell to God
and know our emotions will be met
not with spite or judgment
but with compassion deeper than anything we can imagine,
and thus, in our darkest times,
we can still find some measure of peace,
however slight,
because

We can’t give God more than God can handle.