8-12-19<\/p>\n
Conversation in the doctor\u2019s waiting room. A woman next to me said, after reeling off her worries, \u201c\u2026 but as the Bible says, God never gives us more than we can handle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Me: \u201cYou know, the Bible does not say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t? I\u2019m sure it does!\u201d<\/p>\n
Fortune cookies, yes. Greeting cards, yes. Even sermons, yes. But the Bible \u2013 prophets, poets, kings, disciples, Jesus? \u2013 no.<\/p>\n
In fact, if we think about it, troubles and sickness and problems usually are attacks from the devil, or the results of our own folly\u2026 but not \u201csent\u201d by God. He doesn\u2019t \u201cgive\u201d us more than we can handle. That is not how He works. He \u201cgives\u201d us hope. And strength. And faith. And wisdom. And, yes, deliverance.<\/p>\n
But He does not visit us with bad things, even temptations. That\u2019s in the devil\u2019s job description, not God\u2019s.<\/p>\n
A proper understanding of this can change our lives. We should be free of the pagan superstition that God pushes us to the edge all the time. We are His children, and He is not a child abuser.<\/p>\n
He did not tempt Jesus in the wilderness. That was Satan.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s dig deeper into these ideas about challenges and God. I say He does not \u201cgive\u201d junk to us. The world will ask, \u201cIf He is a loving God, then why doesn\u2019t He prevent those problems?\u201d A question that seems logical. He could have plucked Jesus from the cross. He could have put out the fire in the furnace before the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be tossed therein. The \u201cvalley of the shadow of death\u201d? Why didn\u2019t God promise simply to keep us away from the cursed valley?<\/p>\n
Well, those actions are not in God\u2019s job description.<\/p>\n
He never promised us a trouble-free life. Some people never quite understand that! In fact, it is guaranteed that troubles will come our way\u2026 and the more Jesus there is in our hearts, the more the devil will attack. Stone cold, that. So what does God promise? Let us re-visit the three examples:
\nJesus was on the cross to fulfill God\u2019s plan, and to demonstrate His love for us. He would not interrupt that.<\/p>\n
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not avoid the fire, but were saved in the midst of the fire. Brought through. And manifested the \u201cfourth man\u201d who appeared with them, the pre-incarnate Jesus. Lesson delivered.<\/p>\n
Walking though the valley of the shadow of death? God promises to be with us\u2026 not to slap us down a detour. We learn (or should learn) trust and faith, because He is with us in those times.<\/p>\n
As Andrae Crouch wrote and sang, \u201cI thank Him for the storms He brought me through, For if I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know God could solve them\u2026 I’d never know what faith in God could do.\u201d<\/p>\n
God always \u201cgives\u201d us exactly what we need.<\/p>\n
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