A Mother’s Struggles: More Than She Can Bear

How God’s Pressure Leads Us to His Goodness.

The old cliché, “God will never give you more than you can handle,” has haunted many of us during life’s darkest moments. For anyone who has faced profound loss, terrifying crises, or relentless trials, this saying feels more like a taunt than comfort.

Can anyone honestly claim the ability to handle the near-death experience of a child, the heartbreak of a loved one walking away from God, or the physical toll of chronic pain? And yet, we endure these situations because we have no other choice. We cling to the hope that God is for us in Christ, even when our circumstances seem unbearable.

For me, that hope came into sharp focus one day when I found myself facedown on the bathroom floor, powerless and broken, while paramedics worked to save my seizing son in the next room. In that moment, I learned that God not only gives us more than we can handle. He uses those moments to drive us beyond ourselves and deeper into Him.

The Lion at Our Backs

C.S. Lewis captures this dynamic beautifully in The Horse and His Boy, one of The Chronicles of Narnia. In the story, Bree, a talking horse, and his rider Shasta are fleeing danger when they suddenly hear a lion roaring behind them. At that moment, Bree discovers he has not been running as fast as he thought he could. Lewis writes,

“Bree now discovered that he had not really been going as fast not quite as fast as he could. Shasta felt the change at once. Now they were really going all-out.”

The terrifying roar of the Great Lion forces Bree to find a speed he didn’t know he possessed. Similarly, God often bears down on us in the midst of trials, revealing that our perceived limits are not our actual limits.

Discovering New Gears

For me, the pressure didn’t come in the form of a lion’s roar but in the helplessness I felt as I lay on the bathroom floor, unable to be with my son in his crisis. It was then that I realized I had not been trusting God as much not quite as much as I could.

I cried out to Him, recognizing that while I couldn’t control my son’s situation, God could. I wasn’t present to comfort my son every moment, but God was. If my son died, I couldn’t go with him, but God would be there. That moment of surrender revealed a deeper “gear” of trust in God, one I didn’t know I had.

Have you learned this yet? That what you consider your limits aren’t your actual limits? That the Maker and Sustainer of your life knows your capacity far better than you do?

Burdened Beyond Strength

The apostle Paul understood what it meant to be pressed beyond his limits. Writing to the Corinthians, he shared,

“We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9).

Paul’s words remind us that our breaking points are often where God begins His greatest work. The “new gear” we discover in suffering is not our own strength but the Spirit’s power, enabling us to endure and to trust.

The Goodness in Pressure

It may seem counterintuitive, but God doesn’t grow us through comfort alone. He often presses us through trials. As with Bree, the Lion’s roar forces us to run faster not to harm us, but to protect us from greater dangers.

In The Horse and His Boy, the Lion’s terrifying presence ultimately ensures Bree and Shasta escape their real enemies. Similarly, God uses pressure to move us away from the things that would truly destroy us: sin, self-reliance, and spiritual complacency.

Paul captures this truth in Romans 8:28–29, reminding us that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him conforming us to the likeness of His Son. Even when we feel crushed under the weight of life’s hardships, God is using every ounce of pressure to mold us into something more beautiful and holy.

All His Paths Are Steadfast Love

When life feels unbearable, it’s easy to question God’s motives or doubt His goodness. But Scripture reminds us,

“All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psalm 25:10).

Even in our darkest moments perhaps especially in those moments God is leading us along paths of love. He presses us not to destroy us but to drive us closer to Him.

When you feel the Lion’s roar at your back, remember this: He is for you. His pressure is grace, pushing you toward greater trust, deeper surrender, and new vistas of His goodness. Share this article or subscribe to our newsletter for updates

Reply

or to participate.