Dependency on God: "Handling Things" 4-19-26

Overview

"God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle"—Did Jesus Actually Say That?

When life turns stormy, a familiar phrase often surfaces: "Like Jesus said, God will never give you more than you can handle." It sounds comforting, even biblical. But Jesus never said it. The phrase appears to be a paraphrase—and a twist—of 1 Corinthians 10:13, where Paul writes that God is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond our strength, but will provide a way of escape. Notice the context: Paul is speaking specifically about temptation, and the strength to endure comes from God, not from us. When this verse gets repackaged as "God won't give me more than I can handle," the focus quietly shifts from God's faithfulness to our ability. It becomes an exaltation of self-sufficiency dressed up in Christian language.

The Greatness of a Child

In Matthew 18:1–4, the disciples argue about who is greatest among them—astonishingly, just after Jesus has foretold His suffering, death, and resurrection. Rather than rebuke them with a lecture, Jesus places a young child—possibly an infant—in their midst and says that unless they change and become like children, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Why a child? Because a small child is a living picture of dependence and humility. A child cannot handle life on their own; they rely entirely on someone greater. Greatness under God's reign, Jesus teaches, is not measured by capability or status, but by childlike trust in the Father.

When Life Gives Us More Than We Can Handle

The truth is, God does allow into our lives things that are more than we can handle. Paul himself confessed this in 2 Corinthians 1:8–9: he was "so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself." His catalog of suffering in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28—beatings, shipwrecks, hunger, danger, daily pressure for the churches—is not the testimony of a man saying, "I've got this." It is the testimony of a man brought to the end of himself. And Paul tells us why: "that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." The grief of losing a loved one, a shattered dream, a betrayal, a hard diagnosis—these crush us precisely so that we will stop trusting our own strength and learn to lean on the One who is strong.

He Handles What We Cannot

The deepest thing we cannot handle is our own sin and the broken relationship with God it creates. And here is the gospel: God did not hand us a problem to manage. He handled it. He sent His Son to the cross to bear our sin and the wrath we deserved, and the empty tomb declares that the sacrifice was accepted. In the waters of Baptism, He washes us with that promise in concrete, tangible ways. So when something arrives that is more than you can handle, ask not, "Can I handle this?" but "What is God teaching me here?" He is teaching you to be childlike—dependent, humble, trusting. He can handle it. And He has.

Transcript

What you open your Bibles, please, with me, to the Gospel of Matthew the 18th chapter for 2s

our study today, you're using a Pew Bible in the rack in front of you or underneath you, 8s

that is on the New Testament page 17, Matthew the 18th chapter for our time in God's 13s

Word today. 20s

How are you? 22s

How are you? 24s

We're asked that question quite often, aren't we? 27s

And we ask that question of others quite often. 31s

In my first call, there was a person who, when you would ask him, how are you, he would 36s

give a meteorological answer every single time, every single time. 42s

Say, how are you? 50s

And you'd say, partly cloudy, or hazy, or sunny, on and on, the descriptions could go. 52s

When you think of that, that is really a very descriptive way of answering the question, 66s

isn't it? 73s

And can yield perhaps more honesty than sometimes we give when someone asks how we're 74s

doing. 83s

When the stormy times come in our lives, sometimes phrases or statements around it can 87s

be phrases like, this is hard, or it's just not too much fun these days, or I really 96s

wish things would change. 112s

And in the stormy times, there's also another phrase that is used, another phrase that 117s

can be heard, and the phrase is this. 124s

Well, like Jesus said, I will never give you more than you can handle. 128s

Like Jesus said, I will never give you more than you can handle. 140s

But here's the thing, did Jesus ever say that? 151s

Is that a promise of God? 163s

It is a wise parent, a wise parent that sees a teaching moment. 172s

And grasps that teaching moment and uses it. 180s

Certainly the Lord Jesus understood teaching moments. 186s

And what's recorded for us in Matthew 18th chapter is a teaching moment. 190s

Look at me, please, at verse 1 of chapter 18. 198s

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, who is the greatest in the kingdom 202s

of heaven? 210s

Well, Luke the ninth chapter and mark the ninth chapter gives us the backdrop to that 213s

question. 220s

What had occurred is the disciples had gotten into an argument among themselves. 221s

And they were arguing among themselves, which one of them was the greatest. 226s

Let's just wrap ourselves around that reality for a moment. 236s

Instead of focusing on what Jesus had taught about the passion and the specificity of it, 244s

specifically, that he was going to be mocked and scourged and crucified. 250s

And on the third day, he was going to rise again. 255s

Instead of focusing on what Jesus had taught about his passion and resurrection, their focus 260s

is trying to discern which one of them in their circle was the greatest. 268s

What did they expect here of Jesus? 280s

Did they expect Jesus to be some sort of arbiter? 284s

And to say, as I look at all of you, if I had to make a choice, it would be and then fill 290s

in the blank, what did they expect here? 297s

And this argument about greatness didn't go away. 301s

A few months after what's recorded here, you've got the mother of James and John that 306s

comes up to Jesus and asks a favor. 314s

And she says, this declare that these two sons of mine will sit. 320s

One at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom. 326s

What's she want? 332s

She wanted the great spots for her sons. 333s

One at the primo spots in the kingdom. 339s

This whole argument about who's the greatest among us? 345s

And you have got Jesus here who's teaching about his passion and his resurrection and their 350s

consumed with discerning which one of them is the greatest. 356s

Teaching moment and Jesus teaches. 367s

Look with me please, Edverse 2. 373s

He called a child whom he put among them. 376s

That word there for child means a very young child. 381s

In fact, it's the same word that can be used as an infant. 386s

So you've got a limited range here of an infant to a very young child that Jesus uses as an example. 390s

He called a child whom he put among them and said, truly, I tell you, unless you change 399s

and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 405s

Jesus is saying, you have no understanding of what constitutes greatness here. 412s

You don't have a clue of what constitutes greatness in the kingdom of heaven. 419s

What's the kingdom of heaven? 425s

It's synonymous with the kingdom of God. 427s

They're interchangeable terms. 429s

That's the reign and rule of God in our lives. 431s

You don't have a clue of what constitutes greatness under my reign and my rule. 436s

You're doing your own thing here. 445s

You're not living under the reign and rule of God with your concept of greatness. 449s

Look at verse 4. 455s

Jesus says, whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 457s

Now it's not that Jesus found some particular child who is particularly humble here. 471s

He's using the class of children to make the point. 476s

A child is absolutely dependent for survival upon the parent. 480s

Remember, we're talking about a young child perhaps an infant here. 488s

Jesus says, look here at this child. 494s

There are a picture of dependency. 499s

They are a picture of humility. 502s

Jesus says, greatness under the reign and rule of God is found in dependency. 508s

It's found in humility. 521s

So you've got the phrase, God will never give us more than we can handle. 528s

Or let's make it more personal. 538s

God never will give me more than I can handle. 542s

And then you have next to that a picture of absolute dependency and humility as Jesus talk about the greatness in the kingdom of heaven. 547s

So how do you hold those two together? 560s

How do you hold the phrase? 562s

Like Jesus said, he will never give me more than I can handle with the picture of humility and dependency. 567s

How do you square those two things? You don't. 577s

You don't. 583s

Because Jesus never said, I will never give you more than you can handle. 586s

He never, ever said it. 599s

So where does it come from? 609s

I think it comes from a paraphrase and a twist of a verse in 1 Corinthians 13. 612s

1 Corinthians 10 chapter verse 13. 620s

There, Paul writing out of the inspiration of the Spirit, writes this, 624s

God is faithful. 629s

And he will not let you be tested beyond your strength. 631s

Just before that, he says, no testing has overtaken you. 637s

That's not common to everyone. 643s

That word in the Greek, it's the same word for temptation. 645s

Same exact word. You can translate it, test. You can translate it, temptation. 650s

Might be easier to translate it, temptation. 654s

Because then you define what the test is. 656s

No temptation has overtaken you. 660s

That's not common to everyone. 662s

God is faithful. 665s

And he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. 667s

But with the testing, the temptation, he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 673s

You see, you hear a little bit of strains from that other phrase. 685s

But notice here, what's being talked about are not difficulties in life, 690s

not challenges in life, it's specific to temptation. 695s

And also, what is being talked about is, where is the strength here to endure it? 700s

God is faithful. And he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, 709s

but with the temptation, he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 713s

Where's the source of strength? Where's the source of overcoming? 722s

A temptation. Remember, these are temptation's common to all. 726s

Where's the source of strength to overcome the temptation? 730s

But it is God. 734s

So if you paraphrase that and you twist it, then you come up, 738s

and you take it out of its context, you come up with a phrase, 743s

God will not give us more than we can handle. 746s

And what do you wind up with in that phrase? 751s

An exaltation of our ability to do what? 756s

Handle things. 761s

God won't give us more than we can handle. 763s

It comes, I believe, from a paraphrase and a twist of first Corinthians, 773s

chapter 10, first 13. 778s

And you wind up with a phrase, 784s

we're in the end, we're saying, 786s

I can handle it. 794s

I can handle it. 798s

The reality is, is that God constantly allows into our lives, 802s

things that are more than we can handle. 810s

He constantly does that. 817s

Listen to what Paul writes. 821s

In second Corinthians, the first chapter, he says this. 824s

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, 830s

of the affliction we experienced in Asia. 835s

For we were so utterly, unbearably crushed 839s

that we disappeared of life itself. 846s

Then later, in second Corinthians, the 11th chapter, 856s

Paul writes this, 861s

five times I've received from the Jews, the 40 lashes, minus one. 862s

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I received a stoning. 869s

Three times I was shipwrecked for a night in the day I was adrift at sea 874s

on frequent journeys. 878s

In danger, from rivers, danger, from bandits, 881s

danger from my own people, danger from gentiles, 885s

danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, 889s

danger from false brothers and sisters, 895s

in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, 898s

hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked, 902s

and beside other things, I am under daily pressure 908s

because of my anxiety for all the churches. 913s

That does not sound like someone who says, 917s

God will not give me more than I can handle. 924s

That sounds like someone who says, 933s

I am utterly unbearably crushed. 938s

I despair of life itself. 946s

It feels like I've received a death sentence. 952s

Paul admits, 961s

this is more than I can handle. 966s

What about us? 983s

What about when you lose a loved one? 992s

A spouse, a child, a friend? 997s

What about those times when dreams are just dashed? 1005s

And you're just stripped of what you hoped for? 1013s

What about times when you're betrayed by someone who was close to you and you trusted? 1025s

What about times when problems just surge? 1038s

Like one wave after another, what about those times when you receive a diagnosis? 1046s

That's not what everybody has been telling you, oh, it'll never be that. 1056s

And it turns out to be that. 1060s

God allows things in our lives all the time that are more than we can handle. 1067s

So what is he teaching us in those times? 1082s

Look again with the please, at verse 2 of our text. 1095s

He called the child, when we put among them and said, 1100s

truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven. 1106s

Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 1115s

What is God teaching us when he allows those things in our lives that are more than we can handle? 1129s

Listen to how Paul puts it. 1163s

Second Corinthians 1. 1168s

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that here comes. 1171s

We would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 1181s

What does he teach us? 1192s

And those times when he allows things that are more than we can handle in life, he's teaching us to be childlike. 1197s

Dependent humble. 1211s

And that's a blessing that can come out of when the times in our life are stormy. 1218s

And it comes to our sinfulness, our sin, and the severing of our relationship with God because of our sin, 1236s

that's more than we can handle. 1244s

That's more than we can handle. 1246s

So what does God do? 1249s

He sends His Savior, this is Son, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to the cross, 1252s

and on the cross Jesus bears our sin. 1256s

The wrath of God is laid upon the Son. 1261s

The tomb is empty, the sacrifices accepted. 1267s

God comes in the most concrete ways in the waters of baptism and washes us in those promises. 1270s

When it comes to our relationship with God, severed by sin, 1280s

that's more than we can handle. 1285s

And He handles it. 1290s

And He sends His Son. 1294s

We can trust in the one who has redeemed us. 1298s

We can trust in the one who has redeemed us. 1305s

So what are some of the things that come to your mind this morning? 1317s

As you come to the Lord's house, what are some things that come to your mind? 1321s

Where you say, that's more than I can handle. 1328s

What comes to your mind? 1339s

What is he teaching you? 1344s

What is he teaching you? 1348s

Is he teaching you to say? 1350s

I can handle it. 1356s

Or is he teaching you to say? 1359s

He can handle it. 1372s