God won't give me more than I can handle...right?

Recently I have read several blog posts on the topic of God not giving people more than they can handle. People seem to be currently enraged with this concept. Why is this such a big deal I wondered as I read the blog posts. I have done some reading and this is what I came up with.

The concept of God not giving us more than we can handle is found nowhere in Scripture. In fact we have very well documented cases of God giving or allowing people to be in circumstances where they were given more than they can handle. Surely being cast out of the garden of Eden, separated from God, struggling in work and childbearing and the final consequence of original sin, death, were probably more than Adam and Eve could handle. When the Lord killed David and Bathsheba's son as a punishment for their infidelity, it was more than they could handle. Moses could not speak and was given the task of demanding Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, despite his fear, anxiety, stuttering. Job, lost everything and was tempted and afflicted by Satan, I'm sure that felt like more than he could handle.  What about Jesus? Dying on a cross  and being separated from God was more than he could handle. Oh and don't forget the disciples, most of them were martyred for their faith...do you see where I am going with this? The Bible is full of accounts of people with struggles. People just like you and I who found themselves in situations that were more than they could handle. Scripture is also records the Lord's faithfulness in EVERY overwhelming situation.

What Scripture does say is that the Christian life is to be a struggle. We are to take up our cross daily and follow Christ. Christ himself tells us that even families will be broken apart by the Gospel. Boy, that sounds a lot worse than they whole "God won't give you more than you can handle" adage. Actually the truth is far more wonderful than even that. The Lord promises to be with us in time of struggle. He promises to carry us through, guide us and protect us. He gives us his Holy Spirit and friendship with his fellowship of believers here on earth. We may be given things that are seemingly too much for us to handle but the good news is that nothing is bigger than what God can handle. If we could figure out everything here on earth, what would we need faith for? What would we need God for? How would God be glorified by a bunch of highly capable people with perfect lives? Furthermore, how much satisfaction and joy could we ourselves take from life if we were perfect and never learned anything new or were never challenged or tested. The hardest things I have encountered have left imprints on my soul. The Lord has used them, to change and grow me into the person he means me to be.

The Lord may or may not give me more than I can handle but this sinful broken world probably will. My sinfulness and disobedience may also land me in a situation that feels like more than I can handle. I will encounter, sickness, death, sorrow, violence, cruelty, hatred and the like, here on earth. God gives us something powerful though in the midst of the struggles here on earth his Spirit and his Son. Neither one of these things take away the broken bits of our lives but they do allow us to walk through our troubles with faith. So instead of thinking, "God will not give me more than I can handle." I prefer to think that there is nothing that God can not handle. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."- 2 Corinthians 12:9  May God display his power and might in the lives of us who call him Father.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus."-Romans 8:38-39

The star of Brave in the real world

Several years ago a movie titled Brave came out into theaters. It featured a little girl who was seeking her own voice and path in a life that had already been planned out for her. I took my daughter to see this movie and we love it but I don't think Merida was all that Brave. I guess by movie standards she was Brave in facing a bear, standing up for what is right, but at the end of the movie I saw a selfish little girl who was only Brave because she had to be. Maybe we all face moments where we are brave because we have to be. I don't think anyone walks around thinking,"I want to be brave. Test my braveness." In reality I think we are brave when we least expect it or possibly when we least want to be.

My little girl was born with a cleft palate. She was very fortunate that it was only the palate and not the lip. The cleft also did not bother any or her gums. When she was born she would not eat due to the palate and she had a hard time thriving for several weeks. Fortunately we live in a city that has wonderful children's hospitals and we put her under the care of the cleft team at Cardinal Glennon. At 16 months the cleft was repaired. Honestly it was an awful experience. I don't know if you have ever been in a situation to watch your child suffer but if you have you understand the torture we went through. Our daughter cried for a full 48 hours after we got home and she was in so much pain, it hurt us so bad because we could do nothing. One day she turned a corner and suddenly she was playing and happy again. Our daughter does not remember any of the things that happened with that first surgery because she was so small but all of that is about to change. 

At our cleft team visit this year the doctors determined that my little girl will need another surgery. After a marathon of doctors; ENT, audiology, speech, plastic surgery, dental, and a battery of tests prodding a poking they told us we needed one more test to determine if she needed surgery. She had to have a nasal scope, basically they put a camera up her nose and asked her to speak. At first my 5 year old seemed afraid of this task but then she bravely accepted the challenge and did a wonderful job. As she waited for her scope that was admittedly scary for her, she sang a song she learned at her preschool. "Our God is a great big God." She began to sing a soon there was a host of people watching and smiling, some were even crying. She did the scope and our fear were confirmed that she will indeed be facing another surgery, a surgery that she will remember. 

I walked into the news of surgery with faith but in the days that have followed I have been met with doubt, fear, and anxiety. I know God has kept my baby girl and our family in his care but why this? Why must we continue on this journey? Why does someone so small have to be so brave? I am sure many mother's of children fighting illness, disease or any medical struggle have asked God the same question. It seems unfair that a small child should be asked to bear such a great burden but I know plenty of people whose children bear a similar or even harder burden than my own. How do we walk through these challenges with faith and grace while still being human? 

I am afraid I cannot answer that question but I do know a few things. I know that my daughter frequently reminds me that she loves Jesus more than me and that is a start. The first time she told me that I almost cried. She looked at me like she thought I was angry and I looked back at her and said, "that is always how it should be. Make sure you always love God more than people and he will give you a heart to love people well." See she has the correct priorities. Her heart longs after God without question. She does not have to doubt, she just has faith. When she comes to a new situation she approaches it with faith. My challenge is how to model walking with faith in this new situation so that she can demonstrate and live out her faith in this obstacle too. 

I also know that God is not the author of bad things. We live in a fallen world broken by sin. When Adam and Eve sinned the whole of humanity was cursed with sin and the effects of sin. There was no longer perfect communion with God. Our bodies now struggle with sickness and the effects of the fall. The whole of nature is crying out for redemption because of the sinfulness of man. Most Christians embrace these truths as fact but honestly it is hard to live them out in the face of our struggles. So what then are we to do when faced with a situation that requires bravery? I believe we are to set our hearts and minds on God like king David and God will use us to slay Giants. Exodus 14:14 says that the Lord will fight your battles you need only be still. I think that the being still is the hard part. We can not see God's plan from out limited human perspective but he calls us to have faith and trust, that is what makes us truly brave. So the next time you are faced with a situation that requires you to be brave consider your options, face the situation with your own strength or call upon the one who endured death, even death on a cross, to reverse the curse of sin.