In high school, my house burned down.
We’re not talking about a little house fire – it was a total loss. In fact, it started in the closet of my basement bedroom.
Countless basketball cards, autographed memorabilia, a lifesize Michael Jordan cardboard cutout, and my awesome waterbed – all gone in a moment.
I was away at school when I got the news. Completely overwhelmed, it didn’t feel real.
I was told that I shouldn’t worry because God wouldn’t give me more than I could handle. Or that I must be stronger than I thought I was because, even though I felt completely hopeless, God wouldn’t give me more than I could bear.
I heard this from my parents, friends and teachers. As an adult, I still sometimes hear it from clients and friends in more casual conversation. That God gave this person that lot in life, and I got this lot in life because that’s what they can handle and this is what I can handle.
I want to offer a different perspective.
Consider the Biblical Truth that we were created to grow and move closer to becoming the person that Jesus is. A lifelong pursuit that we will never fully realize, but that we feel empty without.
Also consider the reality that we only grow and expand when challenged. That no growth happens inside of our comfort zone.
Lastly consider that we can accomplish nothing without the help of God, and that every good thing is from Him.
God wants us to grow. That growth comes from being a little overwhelmed sometimes. And our ability to navigate that overwhelm comes from God.
God doesn’t give us more than we can handle? He absolutely gives us more than we can handle!
God never promises us that He won’t give us more than we can handle.
But He does promise to give us what we need day by day and moment by moment if we will only step out in faith and do the hard work.
Without the fire we can’t become hardened steel. In our sin, if things never felt out of control we might not even see the need for God in our life.
The strongest steel is forged by the hottest fire, so now I embrace it.
I look for challenges and subject myself to discomfort, because I know it’s through those experiences that I can become the strongest, most self-actualized version of myself and the most useful tool to positively impact the world for God.
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