Does God give us more than we can handle?

1. More than you can handle? – 17th
February 2017
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33).
ThisScripture teachesusa wonderful principle.If we belongtoHim, Godwill notallow anydifficultyto
come intoour livesthatwe are notcapable of bearing.Withevery temptation andeverytestingthat
comesour way,God will remainfaithful tous;He will provide awayto endure the test.We do nothave
to give into sin.We can obeyGodin everycircumstance. We canlearnthisfrom 1 Corinthians10:13,
“Notemptationhas overtaken you except what is commonto mankind.AndGodis faithful;hewill not
let you be tempted beyond what youcan bear. But when youare tempted, he will alsoprovide a way
out so that youcan endure it.”
Jesusthoughtusthe Lord’s Prayerwhichgivesus divine encouragementinourChristianwalk. Inthis
prayerwe seekthe Lords favorby requesting “Andleadusnotinto temptation,butdeliver us from the
evil one.” (Matthew6:13). We pray and ask our Fatherto protectus fromthe evil one. However, this
doesnotmean we will neverface trouble.Onthe contrary,Jesussaid,“Inthisworldyouwill have
trouble”buthe tellsusto be strong because the keyisfoundinJesus’nextwordswhenHe saysthatHe
has overcome the worldaswe can learnfrom John16:33,“I have toldyou these things,sothat in me
you mayhave peace. Inthis world youwill have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
We can learnin2 Corinthians thatApostle Paul andhiscompanions experienceduntoldtroubleasthey
tookthe gospel intonew townshipsand countries.Thisis one of his testimonies:“Wedonotwant you
to be uninformed,brothers andsisters, aboutthe troubles we experienced in the province ofAsia. We
were under great pressure, far beyondour abilityto endure, so that we despairedof lifeitself.”(2
Corinthians1:8). It soundslike Paul wastroubled beyondwhathe couldbear—“farbeyond ourabilityto
endure.”Butthisfact leadsusto anothertruth: ourstrengthto endure testingandtemptationdoesnot
come from ourselves;itcomesfromGod!Therefore we have tosteadfastly commitourproblems in
faithto God and seekHisassistance. That’sexactlywhatPaul saysnext inthe same passage: “
Indeed,
we felt we hadreceived the sentence of death. But this happenedthat we might not rely on ourselves
but on God,whoraises the dead.” (2 Corinthians1:9).
Whenwe read throughthe above passage,we can learnthat Paul continueswithpraise tothe Lord for
His deliverance whichgives more emphasison prayers.He teaches usthatGod will continue todeliver
us,as a familyora church whenwe pray as one family, forone whohastrouble,sicknessoranyother
similarsituation.Becausewhen twoormore gatherand seekGods favourinfaithforHis provision, He is
there inour midstas we can learnfrom Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name,
there am I withthem.”
We can alsolearn thisinthe above situationfacedbythe apostle Paul - “greatpressure,farbeyondour
abilitytoendure”– insteadof allowingworrytotake precedence,theyprayedandsoughtGods
assistance aswe can learn from 2 Corinthians1:10-11, “He hasdelivered us fromsuch a deadlyperil,
and he will deliver usagain.On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliverus, 11
asyou
help usby your prayers. Then many will give thankson our behalffor the graciousfavor grantedus in
answer to the prayers of many.” He will continue todeliverus!

2. Therefore asChristianswe needtohave greatfaithforGods protectionandprovisiononanything that
comesour way… anythingthattemptsus,anytragedythat befallsus,we are capable,inGod’spower,of
overcoming.Inall thingswe canachieve spiritual victory,throughChrist.Life isnoteasy.The factis that
evenasChristianssome donothave the absolute faithinHisprovision.Itisoneslevel of faiththat
countsas we can learnwhenJesustellsusin Matthew17:20,“He replied, “Becauseyou have so little
faith.Truly I tell you, ifyou have faithas small asa mustard seed, you cansay to this mountain,‘Move
from here to there,’ andit will move. Nothingwill be impossibleforyou.” Yeslife ishard,but with
absolute Faithinthe strengthof Hisprovision, we canface whateverthrownourway,with confidencein
God’sgracious promises.
But all our prayersare NOTansweredsimplybecausewe pray. Jesustellsusin Matthew6:7, “And when
you pray,do not keep onbabblinglikepagans,for they thinkthey will be heard because oftheir many
words.” Withregard to our prayers,we can receive agreatunderstandingfrom Isaiah1:15, “Whenyou
spread out yourhands inprayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer manyprayers, I am not
listening.Yourhandsare full of blood! AsChristianswe needtosteadfastly bearinmindthatwe seek
the assistance of a HolyGod. Therefore we cannotseekHisassistance andprovision whilewe are still
dabblinginsinandsinful deeds. We needtochange!We have tohave faithinJesusChristas one’s
saviour, repentforoursinsand seeksalvation.Itisthenthatwe become a new entityinChristanditis
thenthat we can evenapproachHim.
As Christianswe are “more thanconquerors”inChrist as we can readfrom Romans 8:37, “No,in all
these thingswe are more than conquerorsthroughhimwholovedus.”
Therefore everyone bornof Godovercomesthe world.Thisisthe victorythathas overcome the world,
evenourfaith.”We canlearnthisfrom 1 John 5:4, “…foreveryone born ofGodovercomes the world.
This isthe victorythat has overcome the world,even our faith.” Therefore to“overcome”the trialsand
temptationsof the worldistoprevail overthem, justasDavid,inGod’s strength,prevailedoverGoliath.
Therefore asChristianswe mustknowthatevil schemesanddisagreeable circumstanceswill notwinthe
day as statedbythe psalmist.“Theyhave greatlyoppressed me from my youth,but they have not
gainedthe victory over me” (Psalm129:2). As Christianswe needtounderstandthatourtrialsare fora
purpose…butwe have the armorof God andthe privilegeof prayer,andGodwill see toitthat our trials
do notovercome ourfaith.Our positionaschildrenof Godissecure and we will come throughthe trials
intactbecause of the Love that God hasfor us. We can learnthisfrom Romans8:38–39,“ For I am
convincedthat neither death nor life,neither angelsnor demons,neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, 39
neither heightnor depth, nor anythingelse inall creation,will be able to separate
us fromthe love ofGodthat is in ChristJesus our Lord.” ThisLove can neverchange because “Jesus
Christis the same yesterday and todayand forever.”(Hebrews13:8).