I've heard this phrase in various forms most of my life and I always find it to be a bit absurd.

The reason for this is that it always makes me think of the Anthropic Principle, which basically says that the reason that the Earth supports intelligent life is because intelligent life is here to observe that fact.

In other words, if the Earth didn't support intelligent life, we wouldn't be here to point out that fact to each other.

To me, this phrase seems to be like that - if we are assuming that more than you can handle means you've survived the experience.

So what I am saying is that you can always handle what you are given (by God, or whoever) because if you can't handle it, and you kill yourself or go insane, you won't be around to post an answer here to argue that it's not true. :)

I think this is a "feel good" statement, it gives us some reassurance that things wont get worse than we can handle at least. On the surface this is not too bad since it is a beneficial belief and could be very stopper that keeps us from going down the drain. In other words it gives a faith to believe at least it wont get that bad!

But really it is not that God is giving and taking, it is our thought and deeds that are giving and taking. With this in mind I could go into a deep depression and like a deer caught in headlights be sucked in so bad that I can not see anything else, this in turn brings me even deeper into the depression and could lead to suicide or mental hospital as Lee Ann pointed out.

So it is how much faith do we have this will get better or worse, and how much faith do we have that we can handle this or can't handle this. It is like Peter walking on water, he had faith he could but when distracted his faith shifted to he could sink in water and so he did. Where we choose to place our faith, in the positive or negative, in the I can or I can't: that determines if we get more than we can handle.

There is no true or false answer here. It is a case of belief. Are you a Christian? If you are a Christian, then it would be very easy for you to relate to this question quite easily, and believe that it is true. If you are not a Christian, then of course none of this would make any sense to you, and you would of course answer false.

So, whether or not you are a Christian, it is for you to decide what your beliefs are. One thing may holds truth to one person, yet to another it holds no truth.

Personally, I think these words are words of comfort to that Christian in need of help, and it is something for them to hold on to in the time of need. It gives them hope. The energy of the word is smoothing to the heart, and it gives the person some confidence. It strengthens their fate, and hope in the spiritual aspect of things to carry on in their lives. These words whether true, or false, to the believer it is very comforting to the soul, and will give them some peace of mind for the future. So you will have to be your own best judge.

I agree with the first answer on this post. Homeless shelters, mental hospitals, prisons, and graveyards are full of people who couldn't handle what they were given. After being pushed to my limit. I vowed to better protect myself from situations that have potential to escalate to more than I can handle and remove myself quickly from those situations I misjudged as probably harmless. I often think of the people who participated in the James Ray sweat lodge and pushed themselves beyond what they could handle.

I too have heard this. I think it is a good belief to have; essentially, you are always more powerful than your problems.

There is another saying that I have heard. It goes something like this: If you ask for patience, God will give you life situations that will exercise your patience. Same for wisdom. Just another way of saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it."

Another one: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.

It does seem very unloving to assume that a woman's breast cancer comes to her because God wants her to experience it. And yet some of us on this board claim that you are responsible for your own reality, so the question now becomes, why did the woman bring breast cancer into her own life?

Could she have something that she needs to learn from it?

It's not as improbable as it sounds. Most dis-ease comes from stress-related illness, and stress comes directly from the way we respond to life situations.

While this phrase sounds very positive and affirming, you will not find “God won’t give you more than you can handle” anywhere within the pages of the Bible. It simply doesn’t exist.

What you will find is the verse that it appears to be a misquotation of, 1 Cor 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 ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

When Paul writes that God will not tempt us beyond our ability, he means that we are never in a situation where we have no other choice but to sin. In a situation where telling the truth will damage your reputation, for example, it’s much easier to give in to the temptation to protect how people see you and lie, rather than do the right thing, which is tell the truth. That’s why there’s no such thing as a “white lie”—one that you tell to protect the feelings of someone else. We never lie to make someone else feel better, only to avoid discomfort ourselves. It’s just easier to lie and not deal with the consequences of telling the truth.

http://hardwords.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/everyday-theology-god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can-handle/

I have heard that all of my life as well. I think what it means is that what ever you are going through in your life good or bad Jesus will be there with you and if your faith is strong enough (which mean you believe Jesus will help you get through this) than you most likely will reguardless what it is. He said if you have as much faith as a mustard seed than you can move mountains.

I will like to tell you a little story about me I was going through a terriable depressing time of my life and after 3 years of prayers I finally came to the point that I just could not take any more I had been reading my bible and praying constantly the reason I was able to make it as far as I had. I finally in one of my prayers told God that I just couldn't handle it any more and I knew that you don't put no more on us than we can bare but Lord I just can't handle any more and the next day it was all changed within a blink of the eye. I said thank you Jesus for literally I could not take any more. He had changed things all for the better but it took a while for me to get it back all together but things were so much better thank you Jesus again.

Now, looking back I don't think God persa had put it on me it was life, the choices I had made, and the choices others had made. I was toss to and fro like lettuce in a salad and I was as low feeling as I could get and something had to give I finally turned it all comepletely over to God when usually I give it to him and than go back and get it and bring it on back and worry about it some more it says bring it all to him and don't doubt and doubting I don't mean to do but I did. Have faith and don't doubt. Jesus said all things were possiable through him.

A lot of things that happen to us it is not God's doing it is man kind and sometimes our doing. Some times man does not like man and man kind does bad things to man kind. Most of the time God stands back and watch us humans and how we interact with each other and the things we do TO and the things we do FOR each other is both amazing and appauling.

Sometimes we make wrong choices and sometimes wrong choices are made for us.

We blame God for a lot of things that the human race has choose to do against the human race. Stop and think about it. We humans are losing our abilities to be compassinate, kind, considerate, helpful, understanding, loving, fairness, respectful and just plain old friendly to one another. I think we need to turn inward and look at our own selves at how we treat our own selves and our fellow mankind. For the human race is to blame for a lot of bad stuff that has happen through out the many years of now and of long ago and evil is to blame as well. But again those are influences we must make choices on.

We as man kind have free will and the choices we make affects our selves and other people who we may or may not come in contact with some choices effects the future generations of chidren on down the road.

Example if we decide to add some type of perservative to the food that is poisonious to the human body but it is in minute particles than we say it is safe and on down the road people become sick with what ever disease from eating the food, using the machine at factories which may cause cancer, drinking water which is down ground from a cementary, or living under a electrical wires that produce too much energy and slowly gives someone cancer is that God or is that man kind I think that is mankind and God is there if we ask him for his help and our faith is strong he will pull us out of this terriable situation but we must ask for his help and don't doubt him and all of his power.

I think instead of us blaming God we need to look at man-kind for God is usually only a spector watching us as we go about living our lives. When we call him in to check things out that is when we see him do his work if we let him. Being able to call on God and knowing that he will here you and come to your rescue is great. It is a comforting feeling.

True. I completely agree with this saying. It is my belief that God does not put obstacles on your path that you, by your nature, are not able to pass through. Life is about learing, evolving, coming closer to God. What sense would be in stopping us on this path?

It is all about the law of karma. Fate is our teacher, and learining is possible thanks to the sorrows and hurdles of this life, which it serves us. I do not imply that unhappiness is a sense of life. I only think that the "bad" element boosts up our progress in spiritual evolution. We even have a thread about this here.

It is true that some people do not manage to defeat their hindrances. But it is not that they were not able to. They were, but they gave up and lost their chance. Still they are benefical, because even it they had made a small progress, it was still a progress.

Did God give us anything apart from Life?

Maybe all the 'bad' bits are cause and affect working itself out.

It seems to me that some people are given more than they can handle.. maybe that is Gods Way of giving us the opportunity to become a guard and guide to them.. angels in the making if you would.

Oftentimes I do not understand Gods way ... but I usually know when someone needs a hand. Maybe God relies on us to be His Hands.