More Than I Can Handle

Something I've heard a few Christians my age and younger say recently is that God won't give us more than we can handle. Whether in regard to some kind of trial or a particular temptation, they use this as a source of comfort and confidence. It's the idea that, whatever may come, it will never be too much. I can handle whatever God's will allows, and it will never leave me destitute because God is good, and He wouldn't do that to His children. Right?

Wrong.

God is good. And it is for that reason that He often gives us way more than we can handle. He overwhelms us with life's circumstances. He allows us to be left destitute. He drives me to the end of my rope, to the end of my strength and my resources and my wisdom, where there's nothing left to hold onto but Him.

Just look at the people in Scripture. Look at Job for goodness' sake! When he found out, within minutes, that all of his wealth and, far more tragically, all his children had been wiped out, he certainly did not say, "Well, God doesn't give me more than I can handle, so I know I'll be okay." Heck no!

Instead, Scripture tells us that "Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
                         'Naked I came from my mother's womb,
                              and naked I will depart.
                         The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
                              may the name of the LORD be praised.'
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (Job 1:20-22)

Job was so broken that all he could do was grieve and fall down in worship of his sovereign God. There was nothing about what he did that was "handling" what God allowed to happen in his life. At the end of himself, all that was left was grief and worship. And that was a holy response to his circumstances.

You see the same thing in the lives of David and Paul when they face hardship and struggle. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells his readers that he actually begged God to take away the "thorn in his flesh," whether that was some kind of physical suffering or spiritual struggle. Paul asked God to take it away because it was more than Paul could handle! And we're talking about Paul here, who wrote a lot of the New Testament. But how does God answer him? "Oh, don't worry about it Paul. I don't give you more than you can handle, so buck up! You got this!" No. God says, "My strength is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And thus, Paul learns to live in Christ's power and not his own. At the end of himself, there is God.

You see, there is no trial that we experience or struggle that we wrestle through that we can deal with in our own strength. There is very little that we can actually "handle" on our own, if anything. It's pride that says, "I can handle this," which is why many believers become disillusioned when they are in the middle of a struggle or trial and come to the utter end of themselves. As if they were supposed to be able to handle the difficulty on their own.

We are weak. I am weak. In my own struggles I have found over and over again that there is nothing for me to do but hold onto who God is. There's nothing I can do but let go of my self and fall on my face and worship. When people say that they know God won't give them more than they can handle, I think, "Just wait!" If Scripture hasn't shown them already, life will teach them otherwise soon enough.

So where in the world did we get the idea that God won't give us more than we can handle?

I think perhaps we pick up the idea from 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says that God He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. The thing is, there's a huge difference between handling trials and temptations and bearing trials and temptations. "To handle" means to manage, deal with, be responsible for, or control. When I look at my life, I know that I lack the strength and will to deal with or manage trials and temptations on my own. And don't we believers know by now that control is always out of our hands?

On the other hand, "to bear" means to remain firm under, like when you're carrying a heavy load. It is not our job to manage or control the difficult things in our lives. But God does give us the strength and grace to endure them, to stand firm in the midst of them because we can hide in Him. Do you see the difference?

Now, I don't mean to depress you with the fact that God gives us more than we can handle. It's true, and it would be depressing if not for another truth: God is also more than we can handle.

Your Creator and mine, the Heavenly King and Mighty Judge, the Redeemer and Conquering Savior, the Holy and Only God, the Alpha and Omega, the Great I AM - we can never comprehend all that He is. He is greater, more holy, more just, more magnificent and beautiful and loving and kind than we can ever, ever imagine. We can never praise Him too much, and we can never understand the fullness of who He is.

And that gives us hope and joy in the midst of life's overwhelming circumstances. We can't handle life and all of its struggles. But when we come to the end of ourselves, we find that He is more than enough, and He is more than we can imagine.

The Year of the Marathon: One Day at a Time

I decided a little over a month ago that this year I'm going to run a marathon. 

A whole marathon. A whole 26.2 miles. All at once. Running.

This isn't something I ever, ever thought I would do or even want to do. It happened in January when I was on the phone with my friend Amanda. In the process of talking about resolutions for this year, she told me that she's running a marathon in November. She told me about a training schedule that she found that starts you out (at the beginning of March) at just three miles and adds miles on slowly, and as she was talking, I had this crazy idea: "Well... I could do that. ... I could do that!" 

I mulled it over for a month, and at the beginning of February I decided that I would do it. I, Emily, would run a marathon. 

So I had to start training just so that I could run three miles by the time March started. Throughout February, I consistently did two-mile runs, and on March 4, last week, I had my first three-mile run. I honestly didn't think it would go well. But it did. I ran three miles Monday, then three on Wednesday, three on Friday and four on Saturday. What? Me? I'm actually doing this? 

I went to visit Amanda this past weekend, so Friday and Saturday we went running together. She'll tell you what a miracle that is, because in college I refused to go running with anyone. But, much to my delighted surprise, running with someone is easier than running alone. She helped me keep a steady pace, she let me know how far we had gone, and she would occasionally turn to me and start singing whatever was playing on her iPod. Together, we finished our first week of marathon training. 

Only 36 weeks to go.

You may think I'm crazy (my roommates certainly do). The fact is that I try not to think about 37 weeks. I can't even think about how much running I need to do this week, let alone this month or this year. I get overwhelmed when I think about 26.2 miles, so I try not to think about it too much. But what I can think about is today. I can only think about it one day at a time.

Just like I can only take life one day at a time. In my growth and relationship with God, there are certain things I want to do, certain victories and consistent disciplines I want to have, certain struggles I want to overcome, a certain intimacy with God and joy in Him that I deeply desire. But I can't try to attain the fullness of those things all at once. I can only pursue God one day at a time. I can only rest in Christ's strength and choose righteousness one day at a time. I can only put off the old self and put on the new self one day at a time. Because I am weak, and God's mercies are new each day. Because I am hungry and empty, and God gives me daily Bread. 

Because God's Word is a lamp to my feet, not to the mile marker 26.2 miles down the road. 

Not surprisingly, relationship and pursuit of God is easier when I don't try to do it alone. When I have the encouragement and support (and humor and tears) of people who are running this race with me, I'm inspired and energized - I can keep running, even when it gets painfully difficult.

This year, I'm running a marathon and seeking to love God and know His love more fully. But, each day, I'm starting with today.