God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle?"

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Charlotte:

"Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." Psalm 119:35-37

As you read the title of my devotional this week, I'm sure the thought may have entered your mind, "Oh yeah, then you don't know what's going on in my life". I can't tell you the countless number of times I have heard people use that expression, and I admit that I am guilty of having used it myself, trying to impart assurance to the person that they can get through whatever difficulty they're facing and that they are in fact much stronger than they think. However, the key lies not in that person thinking they're stronger than they feel, the real strength comes from releasing it to God, knowing that he's in control of it anyway.

I was at an annual conference this past weekend of Orange County Christian judges and lawyers, which I have attended for many years. If I went into the conference thinking that I am facing so many trials in my life right now, I can tell you that by the end of the conference, I felt almost as if I had not a care in the world that could not be resolved. There were four guest speakers, and three, in particular, had encountered more serious challenges in their lives than any human being should have to bear. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, three of the four speakers, not only survived horrendous trials (terrible childhoods, life threatening diseases, death of a child ,etc, etc.) but overcame them, sharing that they now are so thankful to God that it took those kind of challenges for them to recognize just what a mighty and powerful God He is.

It's really easy to get bombarded and weighted down with problems, some big, some small, closing in on us so much so that sometimes it feels as though we can hardly breathe. When this happens, I think that we just need to stop and breathe, and then call upon what we know, as Christians, to be true. We should remember and be reminded of who God is, with all His power and might, and bring our petitions to Him, in prayer, as many times during the day that we need to (3, 30, 300 times. Do you think God is overwhelmed by how many times we lay our petitions before Him?) This of course requires us to TRUST in Him, SURRENDER to Him, and RELY on Him to get us through whatever adverse circumstances we are facing. For those of us sitting at our table at the conference, by a show of hands, most (all) of us at the table (myself included) had to admit that we might be considered by some to be "control freaks" , and good-naturedly decided we may want to start our own little support group, "Control Freaks For Christ." In all seriousness, we knew that not to be complimentary of us because, if we know nothing else, we absolutely know that we are in control of nothing, and that God is in control of "everything."

So, when it seems as if the things we are facing in our lives, whether it be pressures (self-created usually), stress, illness, disease, heartache, financial struggles, or whatever, God's Word throughout has the solution for "the believer", i.e., encouragement and deliverance can be ours for the taking. He tells out to cry out to Him, to pray, and to seek His face. Even if it sometimes feels like He's forgotten us, He hasn't and He won't. That's what faith is all about, as I was reminded as I was doing my daily reading from the book (Search My Heart O God by Kay Arthur) given to me by my Secret Sister last December. Faith consists of three things: first, knowledge (study and meditate on God's Word); second, surrender to that knowledge (remember, we are NOT in control); and third, obedience to do what we know God calls us to do. The promise of His Word [Psalm 42, Psalm 119:35-37, 2Cor 4:8,1Peter 1:6] is going to be my strength because He keeps His promises, and therefore I know that there is nothing thrown my way that He and I won't be able to handle together. How about you?

Have a blessed weekend with your God, your family, and your friends.
In Him, Charlotte

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