You’re Not Strong

** Wow! I’m so humbly overwhelmed with the response I received from my first post. I tried to respond to everyone that private messaged and texted me as quickly as I could! There are so many of us that are hurting and/or going through difficult times that if we just come together and support each other there can be great healing! **

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So have you ever heard people quote the scripture, “God won’t give you more than you can handle”? We probably all have. We probably have all said it a few times actually. I think it’s become one of those common phrases that we say to hurting people when we don’t really know what to say to them. What we’re saying is, “You’re strong, you’ll get through this,” and give them a pat on the back. So, when they start to feel overwhelmed, they’re thinking of how strong they are because, in the end, God knows what He’s doing, right?

Well, I started to really think about this phrase one day, so I decided to find the scripture to back it up. That’s where I ran into the problem:

It’s not in the Bible.

Now before you start saying, “Yes it is!” let’s look at where this thought comes from:

1 Corinthians 10:13,

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” NIV

No where in that verse does it say that He won’t GIVE you more than you can handle. What it’s saying is that He won’t let you be tempted without providing a way for you to overcome it so that you don’t fall into sin. You are capable of enduring sin. It’s a choice.

I believe God DOES give us more than we can handle just so we know we can’t handle it on our own! He wants to BE our strength FOR us. So many times we try to handle situations on our own and we think, “Ok, God put me here so I must know how to do this.” While He does allow things to happen, He’s looking at your heart. Are you going to walk in pride and try to do everything yourself, or are you going to allow Him to be your strength? He’s our refuge and fortress (Psalm 91:2). I think that’s where the enemy can be so tricky. He twists words and makes up phrases that aren’t in the Bible. He wants us to focus so much on our own strength and make us think we’re so strong, but the reality is – we’re not. We’re not strong on our own. If we were, then there was no need for Jesus to come and die in our place. We wouldn’t need a Savior because we can do everything by ourselves.

We can look at the 10 commandments. Do you really think God thought we’d be able to follow all of them? What about even half of them? Why did He even create them? He knew we wouldn’t be able to perfectly follow all of the commandments everyday. A lot of people look at them as rules, but maybe we should start looking at them a different way. Maybe the 10 commandments weren’t created so we wouldn’t break them. Maybe they were made to break us. Maybe God wanted us to see everything we weren’t so we’d realize we need a Savior.

When we realize our weaknesses, then the power of God can manifest in our lives through His strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10,

“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.” NIV

One of the most common phrases people tell me is, “You’re so strong, Brittany.” Brittany isn’t. The God inside her is. My strength comes from my Savior. I had never felt so weak and broken as I did right after I lost my first child, but all people kept telling me was how strong I was. I didn’t feel strong at all, but people were seeing God in me. Although I am still fighting for something, I can confidently say that God is the reason, the only reason, I am able to write and talk about my story today. He is the ONLY hope I have and that I’ll ever need. I spent so much time trying to “fix” everything and control my life when in reality there’s nothing I can do about it. I am not perfect, nor will I ever be. I need a Savior everyday.

Maybe you are going through something where you find it very hard to go on with life because you don’t feel strong enough. Maybe you’re tired of waiting on your promise and you want to give up. Maybe you’re so tired and worn out from battling the same addictions, and you feel helpless and hopeless. It’s because, on your own, you’re not strong. We aren’t capable of overcoming anything without Jesus. The sooner we realize this, the quicker our victory will come.

So I challenge you, stop telling yourself and/or other people that, “God won’t give you (them) anything you (they) can’t handle.” He will! Don’t rely on yourself to get through something. Don’t even rely on other people to help you. Swallow your pride and realize that God is there waiting on you to release it to Him because His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). When you start to worry or feel anxious, remember Who is your strength.

“Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) KJV

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) NIV

Remember, we serve a mighty God, and there’s NOTHING impossible with Him!