Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the "circumstances of life"?
Have you ever felt like maybe God might have been wrong when He said He would never give us more than we can handle?
I know there have been many times when I have thought I couldn't handle another thing going wrong and then guess
what? Another thing goes very, very wrong! And I would cry out to God and say, "LORD,
You promised you wouldn't give me more than I could handle and I CAN'T handle this!" Well,
one day when I was feeling defeated and weak and telling God I couldn't handle it, He told me, If you would "listen"
to me and "hear" what I say, then you would "know" what to do." So, I looked up
the Scripture about Him not giving me more than I could handle and after hearing that verse recited for over 20 years of my
life, I finally "heard” what that verse really said and it wasn't what I had been taught! The
Scripture I had used "against" God so many times wasn't even quoted right. First Corinthians
10:13 says: "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is
faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are
tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure." This Scripture isn’t even talking
about trials and overwhelming pain, sorrow and life changing events! It is talking about "worldly"
temptations and that He will always give us an alternative - a way out - in other words, no excuse to follow through with
the temptation! (Good Scripture! But, not the answer to enduring painful circumstances.) That was one of
my first lessons on reading and knowing for myself what the Bible says. So, I went on a journey to find
out how I am supposed to deal with problems and situations that tear at my heart. And guess what I found?
I found that Paul says “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure and we thought we would never
live through it. In fact we expected to die. BUT as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God..."
And though difficult and painful, I found that this is how I must respond:
"When
trials come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance
has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and
complete, needing nothing." (James 1) and…
"We
can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And
endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And
this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us
the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the
right time and died for us sinners!" (Romans 5)
(And many, many more Scriptures talking about joyful endurance and patience WHEN not IF trials come)
WHAT!
JOY WHEN MY HEART IS BREAKING! Are you kidding me?! And then I kept reading and
"listening" and what I know for sure is that God WILL allow us to suffer beyond our own
strength to endure. And during these times He will deliver us and He
will strengthen and He will comfort us. He wants us to use these
opportunities to grow and mature as His children. He is not telling us to pretend to be happy when we are
hurting but to have a positive attitude, understanding that God is faithful and that He will bring us safely "through".
There is Good News in our suffering! We are being shaped into the person God created us to be! We don't have to
rely on our own strength. The more I have learned to rely on Jesus, the "lighter" the burden seems - do I still
hurt? YES! Do I still feel overwhelmed? YES! But, when I run to Jesus and cry in His arms, and when I allow
Him to work it out for my good, AND when I trust Him to know exactly what is best for me at all times, then
I find that weeping may last for a night (or two, or three!) But joy always comes in the morning!
