Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness,[a] we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance,4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 3:1-5)
28 We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
I don’t know if you know this but there are many things that as disciples of Christ we have come to believe an say that aren’t necessarily biblical. We think they are, but they are not. I would like to talk about tonight about a phrase that we hear and possibly say frequently.
“God only gives us what we can handle.”
The basic logic is that if God loves me and wants me to have a good life in Christ he will give to us only that which we can bear or handle.
Let’s think about this and how this is not true. We can all admit that because of what Jesus said in John 16:33 that bad things and suffering is going to happen. There is no getting away from that because ultimately we live in a broken world and not that God engineers bad things to happen but the simple fact that we exist in this world which is broken we will experience suffering. That is not really about us, but about this world.
Think for moment. Have you felt defeated? Like you can’t handle what you’ve been asked to “bear?”
I read a quote from an article this week that I will reference tonight called, “21 Reasons God may allow more that you can bear.” You can find it here. The quote goes like this.
Imagine telling a mother of two young children after she suddenly loses her husband and fears being able to raise the children, to provide for them, and keep the home in which they, “Remember, God will not put more on you than you can bear.”
Doesn’t sound very comforting to me – or probably to her, but God certainly allowed her to have more on her than she can bear.
If this were not true and God only gave us what we can handle, then why would He die for us? There is no need for Jesus, because we can handle it because God will only gives us what we can handle. This simply is a lie.
Now, I am not suggesting that God puts things on us intentionally to make life harder, no, that is not how God operates. Things get put on us by life itself, by people’s decisions, by our decisions, and by us saying that we don’t need God which ultimately leads to our sinful nature.
Yes, it’s true that we will experience great days and not so great days. That’s life. Sometimes life just plain stinks. Sometimes nothing seems to be going right, but let me read you from Romans 8.
“We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
At our baptism in the church we are all called to His purpose and so we know that no matter the circumstance that we find ourselves in God is actively working for the good in our lives. That’s not to say it’s not going to be hard. It’s going to be hard and we will get through it, but we have to go through the darkness to get to the light.
When Amy got sick my world stopped. Literally we were about to move to Granbury and start as pastors in Granbury and Cleburne and then in 24 hours the fat content in her blood quadrupled and her body was in shock. Not even 24 hours after that she had to go on the ventilator and for 14 days she in an medically induced coma. I didn’t sleep much because my sense of reality was dislodged. So I went to the hospital daily from 8:30-8:30 and refused to leave my wife’s side. Everything was put on hold. Cleburne, Acton and the move.
To say it was hard is an understatement, but everyday I felt God’s strength. I literally felt God’s presence with me everyday. He was actively working for the good with His love and grace and she is healthy now and in active ministry as the Pastor of Discipleship at Acton. I was scared out of mind, but God held me in His embrace and soothed my fears, and I didn’t think it was possible to love Amy more but God quadrupled my love for her and for Him. This happened when her body quadrupled in fat content in her blood and God through this quadrupled my love for her and for Him.
That’s how God operates.
So, know that no matter what you are facing right now in your life, you are not alone and God has not forsaken you. He with you, holding you in His embrace and soothing your fears.
He is actively working for good in your life.
Thanks be to God.