27Jan17

1 Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

I have sat with people in some of the worst situations life can throw at you. I watch as families crumble or grow stronger during hardships. I listen as good natured people try to comfort those in troubles with the phrase, "Don't worry. God will never give you more than you can handle." I'm going to rant for a minute on this because that thought, although it may feel good in the moment, is destructive. Look at the verse above. Is God saying He'll never give you more than you can handle? This verse is what people are trying to quote. When we say that God will never give us more than we can handle we are putting the focus in the wrong place. First off, Paul is talking about temptations here... not tragedy. Not hardships. Not the death of a loved one. Secondly, who is providing the way out? When we say, "God will never give us more than we can handle" we attribute God with the hardship but, give ourselves the credit for the solution. We take that on ourselves and say, "I can handle this." But, most of the time you can't. Not by yourself. If God never gave us anything more than what we could handle on our own then we would never have a need for God, or our community, in the first place. We could handle it all on our own. That is such a dangerous thought. Hold fast to the promise that God WILL give you more than you can handle... but, not more than HE can handle. HE will provide a way out. It's not about you... it's about Him. What are you going through in your life right now that requires less of your effort and more of God's effort?