God Doesn't Give Us More Than We Can Handle Right?

[gettinserious]

I have issue with this statement. Clearly he does give us more than we can handle.. hence suicide. I don't know what got me to thinking along these lines, but at work I have nothing but time to think and this interesting thought popped into my head and I realized that the statement is false.

[isellhouses]

Interesting...I've never thought about it that way.

Very profound thought Tannie!

[Britlee]

Do people really commit suicide because they have to much to handle?

[Wynn]

No, I doubt it Britlee. I think people commit suicide because they do not look for the window that God has opened. But here's something to think about, where does it say He never gives us more than we can handle? I'd like to read that passage. Clearly Job had more than he could handle, when he finally broke down and cursed God, and I think Job had it the worst, wouldn't you say?

I think when times are at their worst, people forget to look to and trust God to get them through, and He gets us through. Let my Granmother-in-law always says, "Things will always work out, if you live long enough. "

[Mrssillymom3]

Originally Posted by Wynn

No, I doubt it Britlee. I think people commit suicide because they do not look for the window that God has opened. But here's something to think about, where does it say He never gives us more than we can handle? I'd like to read that passage. Clearly Job had more than he could handle, when he finally broke down and cursed God, and I think Job had it the worst, wouldn't you say?

I think when times are at their worst, people forget to look to and trust God to get them through, and He gets us through. Let my Granmother-in-law always says, "Things will always work out, if you live long enough. "

Very well said Wynn. I agree totally.

[walkthebeach]

Hi Tannie,
I've always thought the saying "God never give us more than," etc. etc. was ridiculous. Knock on wood, I've been able to "handle" the bad stuff that has came up in my life, but it's been tough, very tough. But I know people who have had much more, much worse things happen and I don't know how they bear up to it. I would have been in a mental institution if I had been in their shoes. Also, when you think about tragedies like the holocaust, or Rwanda, is it fit or proper to say, "God never gives you more than you can handle" (?) That phrase becomes very trite, almost patronizing, in the face of such bleak events, doesn't it?
Beachie

[SMP]

Suicides couldn't handle their particular burdens, which other people look at in amazement and say ," S/he should see what's been tossed in my lap!" For instance, most suicides are among younger folks, unmarried, with their entire lives ahead of them. I can understand terminally ill, suffering older folks with no future except for more of the same cutting themselves off, but why kids? But it's the older folks who normally handle what comes because they found THROUGH EXPERIENCE that this, too, shall pass. For many, it's their faith in God that carried them through.

[HappyMe]

I always think of suicide as my last resort to a way out. It is on my mind several times a week. That is one thing I have not been to honest about with Steve. I do NOT wanna go back in the hospital. I haven't attempted for a long time, but sometimes the cutting gets really close to my wrist veins, and I'll admit it. I wonder how much longer I have to stay in this life.
But that's not all the time.
Days like today I'm really happy and content.
It's just my mood cycles, I know.

[HappyMe]

Sandra... why young people you ask... b/c... if all we've known for the majority of our lives is hurt ... it is scary to know that the REST of our lives will be full of the same. It is hard to have hope sometimes.

[DiamondDeb]

From what I understand the statement in the title is a misquote from the Bible. I am not one to memorize verses, so I'm quoting someone who does.

"The Bible says God won't gives us temptation beyond what we can handle, and when we face it, he will give us a way out. But it never says He won't give us STUFF we can't handle, because sometimes, life is just too much and we can't handle it."

I KNOW I can't handle everything in my life alone. There is actually very little I can manage on my own. That is why I give my problems over to God & ask for His help. It would appear that someone who commits suicide hasn't found a way to do that.

I also know that I can handle ANYTHING with the love of God. When things are at their worst, God takes care of me.

[BigRed]

This thread made me think of this 'new' country western song on the radio ...
and the most telling line is about halfway down... How do you get that lonely... and nobody know Think of this the next time you run into someone who looks sad or lonely... perhaps you taking a minute or two out of your happy healthy busy life, just to say hi or drop a card in the mail to someone of no real consequence, or an email , just to say hi... might just save a life ...


Blaine Larson

How do you get that lonely


It was just another story written on the second page
Underneath the Tiger's football score
It said he was only eighteen, a boy about my age
They found him face down on the bedroom floor

There'll be services on Friday at the Lawrence Funeral Home
Then out on Mooresville highway, they'll lay him 'neath a stone...

How do you get that lonely, how do you hurt that bad
To make you make the call, that havin' no life at all
Is better than the life that you had
How do you feel so empty, you want to let it all go

How do you get that lonely... and nobody know

Did his girlfriend break up with him, did he buy or steal that gun?
Did he lose a fight with drugs or alcohol?
Did his Mom and Daddy forget to say I love you son?
Did no one see the writing on the wall?

I'm not blamin' anybody, we all do the best we can
I know hindsight's 20/20, but I still don't understand...

How do you get that lonely, how do you hurt that bad
To make you make the call, that havin' no life at all
Is better than the life that you had
How do you feel so empty, you want to let it all go
How do you get that lonely... and nobody know

It was just another story printed on the second page
Underneath the Tiger's football score...

[Cosmo35]

UMMM, maybe it's SATAN giving people the stuff they can't handle???

[sleuthfan]

Suicide isn't the only refuge of those who cannot handle what life has dealt them. There are people on the streets, in mental hospitals, dysfunctional and at the mercy of their loved ones to take care of them, people who are emotionally numb and cut off from others, acting out or withdrawing.
Desperation is part of the human condition and different people handle it differently.
Those who have faith say they rely on / give it up to God. But not everyone HAS faith, which is given through the Grace of God not willed into being.

No, I don't agree with that saying.
IMO some people have been better prepared for adversity than others.

[LadyBeloved]

Originally Posted by gettinserious

I have issue with this statement. Clearly he does give us more than we can handle.. hence suicide. I don't know what got me to thinking along these lines, but at work I have nothing but time to think and this interesting thought popped into my head and I realized that the statement is false.

If you are looking at the situation in terms of having faith in God and believing you would not be asked to shoulder more weight than you are strong enough to carry, then it is a true statement because you would turn your troubles over to God and ask Him to help you work it out.

Some people are stronger than others and better equipped to handle things. Some people simply have more hope for the future than others. I think more people realize, even under the worst of circumstances, that (oftentimes) temporary troubles are not worthy of such a permanent solution.

Sometimes that comes from singleminded faith in a higher being but more often, it's a combination of faith in that higher being as well as in their own ability to overcome adversity.

I think the statement helps people who believe to strengthen their resolve, suck it up, so to speak and realize that whatever the issue actually is, it could be a whole lot worse.

[SMP]

Because I was seriously depressed at one time (turned out there was a real physical component to it) and it lasted close to 20 years, I understand pain, loneliness and desperation. I used to total up my blessings, then go "ennnhhh!" If I woke up dead, it would have been a relief. But I never really considered suicide as the answer - there's a huge gulf between wishing for the numbness of death, and actively seeking it. Happyme, I had a happy childhood and good parents. But even that didn't seem to help me. It took getting past the physical problems to help ease the mental ones. But while you are feeling stable, that is the time to tell Steve and enlist his help. Don't blame him if he doesn't know how to deal with it. I've gotten a lot from Bible study, which reassured me that I had value in God's eyes, and prayer, which gave me a relief valve. Don't cut yourself , pray. And come here and vent! Sandra

[Biscotti]

Is this the verse you're looking for?

1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

[SMP]

In context, then, it's the temptation that is bearable, because there is a way out. Even death, but not at your own hand.

[LadyBeloved]

Suicide is an act of free will and if that is the choice a person makes because the problems are overwhelming to him/her, who are we to judge?

[mmmommmy]

I believe that the Lord will not give me any challenges that He and I cannot handle together. We have worked together A LOT lately! I continue to thank Him for these "gifts" he "blesses" me with - sometimes I feel they strengthen me; other times I wonder how much stronger He wants me to be!

[DiamondDeb]

Originally Posted by mmmommmy

I believe that the Lord will not give me any challenges that He and I cannot handle together. We have worked together A LOT lately! I continue to thank Him for these "gifts" he "blesses" me with - sometimes I feel they strengthen me; other times I wonder how much stronger He wants me to be!

Exactly! And much of the time I wish He didn't want me to be so strong. I've learned that the strength I gain is always a help to me. The Lord wants me strong for good reason.

lol...if only I had visible muscles to match that strength! Well, I can dream...

[CurveControl]

I found a sernon Re: JOB
Job teaches us that suffering is a means by which evil is answered, and God vindicated. Therefore, it is a high and holy and glorious privilege that is granted to some Christians, more than others, to uphold the glory of God in the midst of the accusations of the devil in this world. I hope we will learn to see suffering in that way. Sometimes we deserve it. Sometimes it comes because of our misdeeds; it comes to awaken us. But sometimes it is granted to us because it is a high and holy privilege we have of doing what Paul calls "sharing the sufferings of Christ, filling up that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, for his body's sake, which is the church," (Colossians 1:24). I don't know why some choose suicide instead of faith. I just hope I am not chosen to suffer as Job did. I have been on the Brink Of that decisions many times, and always something Wholy unexpected happens to interupt my plans (yup- bad eneough to make a plan) I know now that it was God saying " I am not done with you yet" and intervening. Arrogant, Huh? Well, It sure seems like it to me looking back!

[sleuthfan]

Originally Posted by CurveControl

1) suffering is a means by which evil is answered, and God vindicated. Therefore, it is a high and holy and glorious privilege that is granted to some Christians, more than others, to uphold the glory of God in the midst of the accusations of the devil in this world. I hope we will learn to see suffering in that way...sometimes it is granted to us because it is a high and holy privilege we have of doing what Paul calls "sharing the sufferings of Christ, filling up that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, for his body's sake, which is the church," (Colossians 1:24).

2) I don't know why some choose suicide instead of faith. I just hope I am not chosen to suffer as Job did.

3) I have been on the Brink Of that decisions many times, and always something Wholy unexpected happens to interupt my plans (yup- bad eneough to make a plan) I know now that it was God saying " I am not done with you yet" and intervening. Arrogant, Huh? Well, It sure seems like it to me looking back!

1) I don't believe "suffering is a means by which evil is answered and God vindicated." IMO, it is random. A loving God does NOT hurt His children as "payback". A loving God is forgiving. A loving God is nurturing.
Suffering is NOT "a high and holy and glorious privilege". A loving God would not think that. As a parent, would you willfully hurt your child and consider them privileged to suffer pain? I sure hope not. MY God is smarter and more compassionate than that.

2 & 3) People who are desperate and in pain sometimes choose suicide as their only means of escaping that pain. I have great compassion for them that they feel suicide is their only escape, that they are so unhappy / tormented. It is not that they are BAD, it is that they are desperate.
Faith is not chosen; it is given through Grace. No one chooses to believe, you either do or do not.
And if God is almighty, all-knowing, then why does he allow anyone to commit suicide? Why doesn't he intercede? You say he intervened with you. Why you and not others? Are you more worthy? Do you really think a loving God would 'work' that way? Gosh, I don't. I think a loving God would protect, forgive and love ALL His children. But that's just MY belief

[srm]

Originally Posted by Wynn

No, I doubt it Britlee. I think people commit suicide because they do not look for the window that God has opened. But here's something to think about, where does it say He never gives us more than we can handle? I'd like to read that passage. Clearly Job had more than he could handle, when he finally broke down and cursed God, and I think Job had it the worst, wouldn't you say?

I think when times are at their worst, people forget to look to and trust God to get them through, and He gets us through. Let my Granmother-in-law always says, "Things will always work out, if you live long enough. "

Job never did break down and curse God...

[BigRed]

Originally Posted by CurveControl

I found a sernon Re: JOB
Job teaches us that suffering is a means by which evil is answered, and God vindicated.

WOW... so... everyone who suffers has somehow angered God? Do the kids at St. Jude's anger God? or thier parents perhaps?
No.
I can not agree with your statement.
It reminds me of the '80s when some people said that HIV/AIDS was God's way of punishing homosexuals. NO. It's a disease, probally created by man, that doesn't care if you are homosexual or hetrosexual.

Now, I do believe that we learn great lessons when we are able to get through the rough and tough times. I do believe that it is those rough and tough times that teach us compassion and empathy. AND I do think that, while GOD did not necessarily cause our problems, he/she/they are there to help us through them.

[CurveControl]

Originally Posted by sleuthfan

1) I don't believe "suffering is a means by which evil is answered and God vindicated." IMO, it is random. A loving God does NOT hurt His children as "payback". A loving God is forgiving. A loving God is nurturing.
Suffering is NOT "a high and holy and glorious privilege". A loving God would not think that. As a parent, would you willfully hurt your child and consider them privileged to suffer pain? I sure hope not. MY God is smarter and more compassionate than that.

2 & 3) People who are desperate and in pain sometimes choose suicide as their only means of escaping that pain. I have great compassion for them that they feel suicide is their only escape, that they are so unhappy / tormented. It is not that they are BAD, it is that they are desperate.
Faith is not chosen; it is given through Grace. No one chooses to believe, you either do or do not.
And if God is almighty, all-knowing, then why does he allow anyone to commit suicide? Why doesn't he intercede? You say he intervened with you. Why you and not others? Are you more worthy? Do you really think a loving God would 'work' that way? Gosh, I don't. I think a loving God would protect, forgive and love ALL His children. But that's just MY belief

Top of my reply- I found a sernom on JOB I don't pretrnd to understand it as it is a difficult book to "get" for me.
No, I do not think that I am special. I could have ignored what I now belive to be "help" and continued with my plan. Perhaps He also tried to turn the hand of others who chose to continue. Free will. Suicide and depression are strong in my family history, so please do not think I am making light of it. And of course I have no reason to think that all people who suffer "deserve" it. That was in the sermon I found. The sermon should have been in quotes, I apologise. It Began with Job teaches us It ends with (Colossians 1:24) The rest was me sharing my brushes with suicidal depression. At the beginning of the book of Job, Satan asks permission to torment a man, God gives permission. I agree that God is a loving god, and when I die I hope to find out all the answers, but right now all I can look to is the sripture. The old testament is a scary place, and I am grateful that Jesus died for us. I do not belive anything God allows to happen to us is random. I think we are to learn and grow stronger from the things that happen to us. Grace is offered as a gift, but it is offered to ALL and either accepted or rejected. JMO

As a parent, would you willfully hurt your child and consider them privileged to suffer pain? I sure hope not.

My DD2 (15yo) is grounded and thinks she is suffering horribly- should I let her off the hook and let her do what she wants to do? skip school? smoke pot? run with grown men, I DON'T think so! I put a stop to it as soon as it started. and a severe punishment is required. So to answer your question YES, I WOULD.
Edit:

WOW... so... everyone who suffers has somehow angered God? Do the kids at St. Jude's anger God? or thier parents perhaps?

BigRed-Job did not anger God. Why would you say that? In the sermon it is speculated that it could be one reason, but not the only one. Also says it is a privlige and a learning experience. The St. Judes refrence was just cold.