God helps those who help themselves...and other things the bible DOESN'T say

There's something that's been bothering me for a long time, and I've discussed it a little with close friends, but I know that many people who read my blog don't regularly read the bible, so I want to set something straight.

I've been reading a blog by a young woman who is going through infertility and miscarriage. Many MANY well wishing bloggers comment on her site saying, "Remember, God won't give you more than you can handle!" This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine mostly because that's just not true. The bible never says that. The bible does say that we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear, but that is an entirely different matter.

When it comes to trials and hardships, if it were the case that God never gives us more than we can handle, I would be failing miserably because I always seem to have more than I can handle. Even little things overwhelm me and at times I can fall into dispair. But here's the deal. It is in our very weakness and inability to cope and handle the hard times that befall us that we meet the Lord for who he is. It is in these times that we can have him take up our burden and carry it for us. Paul talks this way about a trial that he was given that he kept dealing with,

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. (2 Cor 12:8-10)

The Christian life isn't without pain and suffering. Paul, who healed many people, even a man who'd fallen out a window and died, couldn't heal his own trial. He asked the Lord, and the Lord told him that his difficulty was allowed FOR A REASON. God's power is made perfect in our weakness and his grace us sufficient for us. In other words, he wants us to see that he is all we need. When we are weak, then we are strong.

Christ's kindom is an upside down kingdom, his ways are not our ways. But we can KNOW: when we are weak, he is strong. His power will rest on us if we lean on him. He DOES allow things that are more than we can handle because his grace alone is sufficient. (Please note: I am not saying he CAUSES our problems, but that he can work all things together for Good. Romans 8:28)

So, that's my peeve. When people misquote the bible, they are misconstrewing the message that God has for us. If you feel that you are weighted down by more than you can handle, you just might be, but you're not alone, and Jesus can handle it all.