How Can I Trust God?

I sat in the waiting room at the doctors office reading a devotional on my phone as I waited for my name to be called to go back to get blood work. The devotional I was reading on this particular day was about the myth that God won’t give us more than we can handle and how we can trust him to be with us through even the darkest of days.

I grew up in a Christian home, going to church, Christian school, and surrounded by believers. However, I still believed the saying that God will not give you more than you can handle was in the Bible. I heard other believers say it to me. I saw it in calligraphy on posters and wooden signs in stores, and I even said it as encouragement to others and to myself. The first problem with this is that is not from the Bible. But the other problem that it causes when we believe this statement is that it can really have a negative impact on how we trust God.

I saw this firsthand. When I went through my darkest season of life, I definitely questioned God and felt like, “Woah, God what are you doing? This is way more than I am capable of handling and I am not okay with this much hurt and grief. I can’t do this. I think you may have messed up.” I thought there was no way this could be part of my story because it just felt too heavy. It was way more than I could handle. 

Reading this devotional in this particular doctors office was actually very fitting because it was the same doctors office I was sitting in a few months earlier when I was in a really tough spot emotionally. I was such a mess I had to have my mom drive me the appointment and sit with me in the waiting room. I wasn’t wearing any make up. I think I was in the same T-shirt and shorts I had worn all week. I hadn’t eaten in a week and was worried I’d pass out. I was living my worst nightmare and at the time I did not think I could trust God anymore. I thought He had gotten something really wrong in His plan.

Looking back I had it all wrong. Maybe part of it was the lack of nutrients and the shock that my body was going through. But a significant part of it was my theology and believing these sayings that weren’t biblical and true. Believing this statement was setting myself up for a lot of disappointment and confusion and also not allowing me to fully trust in God and His goodness and faithfulness.

The Bible never says that God will not give us more than we can handle. It does say that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. But the two are very different. 

We live in a very sinful and messy world, therefore we will experience hardships and pain and grief and sometimes it may feel unbearable. When I was experiencing deep pain and grief I questioned God’s goodness and if I could trust Him. Through my questioning I learned a few very important truths…

One is that God does not cause our pain, but He will allow it. I think this is so crucial to remember when we question how such a powerful and all-knowing God who loves us could let bad things happen. This is a question I’ve heard so many people ask. God does allow pain and suffering. That is part of living in a fallen world. However, He did not cause it. He is perfect. When I struggle with my anger towards God in my hardships this is something that I have to remind myself of often. He allows the pain to happen, but does not cause it.

Another thing to remember is that He does not expect us to handle anything on our own. He welcomes us with open arms and wants us to hand our burdens to Him and trust in Him. He will give us the strength that we need. It comes from Him, not from ourselves. 

And lastly, it is also important to remember that He sees things we don’t see and He knows things we don’t know. Although we all experience times in our lives where we are certain we know what is best for us, we are wrong. He knows best. He will lead us in ways we could have never predicted. 

So when life’s circumstances have us questioning if we can trust God we can remember that he does not cause our pain, he will help us carry our deepest burdens, and he knows our future and what is best for us.