Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Do we get more than we can handle?

God will not give us more than we can bear.  We hear that a lot.  Often people use it as a way to get through a difficult situation.  Or to give us hope that when life is really crappy we are going to be able to handle it.  I get a verse of the day sent to my email.  Today was this:
No temptation has overtaken you 
except what is common to mankind. 
          And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted 
      beyond what you can bear.                    
But when you are tempted, 
he will also provide a way out 
           so that you can endure it.               
               1 Cor 10:13
So what we really should be saying is that God will never let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.  Even better is that when we are in a situation which is going to lead us to sin, God will provide us with a way out.
What I really was struck with though is that we may be given situations in life that are too big for us to handle.  That overwhelm us and make us feel like we can't take another step.  What is amazing is that we all go through tough times.  We all have moments when we wonder how we will make it.  God is asking to help us.  He's asking us to hold on and he will be there for us.  The promise isn't that we'll never have a problem or situation that is too big for us to handle.  The promise is that when life is more than we can bear Christ will carry us through until we are able to walk again on our own.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Reflecting

We are God's glory revealed.  What a thought.  My life is a reflection of God's glory.  So is my life really reflecting God's glory?  Am I living in a way that shows others who God is?  Last week I heard something that has stuck with me.  It's a simple saying but really holds a lot of meaning.  "Don't just say the good news, be the good news."  I'm committed to my life being the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every action, word, and deed to be a reflection.  Of course I'm going to screw up.  I'm human.  I make mistakes.  A lot of them.  But my heart, my motivation is to be God's glory revealed.  A reflection of his love, his compassion, his goodness, and mercy.  This is so much beyond what I can do on my own.  It's way out of my comfort zone because the reality is this means I'm patient when everything around me is ticking me off.  It means I hold my tongue when that crazy driver cuts me off in traffic.  When I really want my way I'm willing to put that aside for the needs of someone else.   It's in the day to day stuff that this really becomes challenging.  Reflecting the glory of God in my attitude and my reactions.  I don't want to just talk about the gospel of Jesus.  I want to be the gospel of Jesus.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

New Year

It's the second day for 2011.  Sunday is my busiest day of the week and it was one of those days where everything worked against me.  My usual response to stuff like this is to freak out.  I'm a stress factory.  I've always been someone who wears my emotions on my sleeve so when things aren't going my way everyone knows about it.  A friend of mine this morning told me not to worry and to just take a deep breath.  It's funny but for some reason God decided to use that one statement to change me.  "Take a deep breath". Calm down.  Slow down.  I can't change what's happening but I can change how I handle it.  Seriously why do I freak out.  This is not the person I want to be.  I want to be the woman who can handle anything.  Who is cool and calm and when the world comes at her she's ready.  More than that,  freaking out is totally opposite to who God has called me to be.  Patient, kind, gentle.....so 2011 for me is going to be focused on not stressing out.  As James said it's the year of Timon and Pumba.   Hakuna Matata!