Food For Thought

I had an opportunity to attend a Nancy Guthrie seminar a couple of weekends ago. Lots of good stuff to go over and review later but there was one thing she had said that has really made me stop and pause.

The question that has made me think was this..."Do you ever say, God will never give us more than we can bear? either to yourself or to someone else as an encouraging word. " I have to admit I have said it, I have said it often.

Her response to this statement was that "Jesus will repeatedly give you more than you can handle so you will turn to him"

I continued to "chew" on this after I got home. Didn't scripture say that God would not give us more than we could bear? I was sure there was a scripture that supported that, now if I could remember where...Gotta love technology, I googled the phrase and this is the scripture that popped out.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But where you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it   1 Corinthians 10:13

Hmm, perhaps she is right, it looks like God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, doesn't really say anything about our trials. Then I continued to think about it....by saying God would not give us more than we can bear, it sort of speaks of self sufficiency, what I can handle. Then I came across this scripture

We do not want you to be uninformed brothers of the hardships we suffered in the providence of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God            2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Again this seems to support what Nancy had said in the seminar, it's not about what we are able to bear but it's about getting to the point of turning it all to him...being desperate for Him.. will continue to ponder this awhile....then I found this scripture

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. that is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong....(his strength, not mine) 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

A promise that his grace is sufficient whatever my circumstances may be...I may not have it all figured out....okay...really... will I ever have it all figured out this side of heaven....but his word says his grace is sufficient so that is where I will rest