You've heard it many times. You may have even said it yourself. How many times have difficulties in your life—one upon another upon another—made you say, "God, why me? Why this? Why now?" 

"God won't give you more than you can handle" is conventional wisdom masquerading as biblical truth. It comes from a misunderstanding of 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Paul was speaking specifically about temptation—not general trials, suffering, or hardship. He was addressing how the Corinthian church was acting like the world around them, giving in to temptations by the devil, "such as is common to man" (v. 13).

Paul's point is this: God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. He'll make the way of escape. When you are tempted, you don't have to give in to it. God will give you the resources to resist.

Satan knows your weak spots, and he tailors his temptation to you. You are not tempted because you are evil. You are tempted because you are human.

Whatever God gives you to handle, He does it to highlight His power. Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Isaiah 40:29 says, "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength."

It's not according to our strength, it's according to His. And when we're overwhelmed by a trial we cannot handle, we realize we don't have what it takes. So beloved, God may, in fact, give you more than you can handle. But it's never more than He can handle.

When a person is broken, in a pit of despair, it drives them to a deeper dependence on God. Paul said, "This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead" (2 Corinthians 1:9, NIV).

You may be in a big, bad situation, but God will say to you, "Hold on. I'm about to do something greater than you can imagine." Your trial doesn't have the last word—Jesus does. And keeping that eternal perspective is what turns a crushing trial into one you can endure.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talked about a thorn in his flesh, which he asked God three times to remove. God's answer was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (v. 9).

God doesn't cause bad things to happen to His children, but He also doesn't prevent them. Sometimes He lets trials happen to demonstrate the superiority of a life lived in God—to showcase His grace in the midst of our difficulties when we lean on Him.

So here's the hard question: Are you willing to embrace pain and suffering if it demonstrates God's grace in your life to others?

The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you. God doesn't want you to handle your pain. He wants you to hand it over to Him.

We will never understand this side of eternity. But God is good. He meets it with His grace so we can endure in such a way that others marvel and draws them to the Christ we serve.