More Than You Can Handle? - Joni and Friends

Joni and Friends Daily Devotional   

More Than You Can Handle?

"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 when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  
1 Corinthians 10:13
 
Every once in a while 1 Corinthians 10:13 bugs me. At those times I'm prone to think God couldn't expect from me what He does from others because mine is a "different story." I especially thought that way when I was lying on my hospital bed: How can You be putting me through all this? It's more than I can bear - even with Your help, God!
 
The truth is, my story is not different. Neither is yours. My quadriplegia hasn't earned me any Purple Heart medals with God. My bouts with pressure sores and lung problems haven't exempted me from 1 Corinthians 10:13. If the Lord allows crushing hardships to pile on top of all the other baggage that goes with being disabled, I can't whine. It never can be said of me, "She has good reason to let off steam every now and then."
 
Whenever I entertain stubborn, stiff-necked thoughts of resentment, I've noticed I don't go forward but backward. The problems aren't easier to handle; they become harder. I must remember Hebrews 12:4 which warns complainers, "...you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." What a good reminder! I'm not a martyr; nobody's drawn and quartered me, laid me on a rack, sawed me asunder, or run me through with a sword - so things can't be that bad.
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True, 1 Corinthians 13 may bug you when you think you must disobey because the temptation is too great. But remember, we can never be forced to disobey. We don't sin because we have to; we sin because we want to.
 
God, thank You for the grace to endure the losses You have allowed in my life. Whatever the trial or temptation, enable me to look to You to provide the way of escape--and the grace to bear up under the load.
 
Blessings,
 
Joni and Friends
www.joniandfriends.org