Thursday, August 8, 2013
When was the last time you fell off your chair?
This article blew me away.
http://natepyle.com/confronting-the-lie-god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can-handle/#sthash.GJOeVJZ2.gbpl
PLEASE take a moment to read it - not that long. And see if you have the same reaction. I about fell off my chair, was so excited and just YES! Yessss!
All I could think was "FINALLY. Someone says this "outloud"...
It was waaaay past time.
Do you agree or disagree?
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If the statement "God won't give you more than you can handle" is taken to mean "...more than you can handle in your own strength," then I agree with every word Mr. Pyle said. However, I have always taken that statement to mean that we will never face anything that we cannot handle through the strength of God. In other words, God lives in us and through us by His Holy Spirit who empowers us, and "nothing is impossible for God" (Luke 1:37). Actually, when we factor in the idea that this statement presumes God's presence in the life of the believer, we get even closer to what it seems to initially imply, which goes right along with what Jesus said, "...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed...nothing will be impossible for you" (Matt 17:20).
ReplyDeleteI think the truth of this statement depends -- as does everything else in our lives -- on whether or not God is involved. It is a lie, as Nate Pyle claims, if we leave God out of the equation, but if we perceive God as the sustainer and provider of our strength, then it is, in fact, a very true statement. Remember, Jesus said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God" (Luke 18:27).
Please know that I do not take this to mean that we will not be broken, but "handling" the situation does not mean that the situation will simply not exist or that it will be quickly reversed or that we will have smiles on our faces and be pain free in the midst of it. It does not even guarantee that everyone will live through the situation. It DOES mean that God will carry us through those situations that break us and that we can learn, grow, mature, minister to others and have inner joy in the midst of the pain and confusion. We can know, even as Paul did, that "to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Php 1:21). THEN, from that sense and with the understanding that our ultimate destination is the perfect, pain free heaven that God created for us, there is nothing that can overcome us. "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Rom 8:37).
Again, I understand Mr. Pyle's point and agree with him if the statement is taken in the one sense, which requires us to "handle" the troubles in our own strength. We simply are not able to handle everything life throws at us, but I offer the above argument to consider that the statement can be taken in a very different sense that presumes a complete reliance upon God, which makes it, oh, so delightfully true.