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Tuesday’s Trust
“Biblical” Lemons
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”
~ Mother Teresa
How many of you know this “saying” is NOT biblical? So let’s just strike through it right now!
“God will never give you any more than you can handle.”
Strike it through because this saying is SO WRONG!
How many of us grieving parents think that the death of our child is something we “can handle”?! And yet, it is definitely in our lap to deal with.
In my opinion,
this assumption that we can handle anything on our own is the biggest deception!
As God clearly stipulates,
“NOT by might nor by power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT,” says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6 NIV (highlights mine)
And as Paul correctly states,
I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me…
~Philippians 4:13 NKJV (highlights mine)
If I were to walk into and through this grief over the loss of my precious child in my own strength alone, it would be the blueprint for disaster. As it is,
I feel I am holding-onto-my-mind-only-by-a-thread. It is ONLY by GOD’s grace and ONLY by HIS power that I make it through any given day with ANY semblance of peace OR sanity!
It is like grief’s vulnerability opens me up to any and all of Satan’s attacks, and only by God’s close sheltering AND guidance can I “man-up” to deal with The Great Deceiver.
3 comments:
This is so good. The pain just never goes away, does it? Like you said, in our own strength, we can hardly manage, but with Christ-- He makes it bearable. Eventually stronger, I hope. <3
pearl
Thanks for sharing. I've had experiences that redefined how I think, that required me to rewire my soul in order to survive. They led to God.
Your experience, frankly, is much more difficult than mine. How do I know? I would need to rewire myself to try to understand. I confess my mind will not go there, so I feel for you and your journey.
Father, surround Angie and her loved ones with Your angels. You are the God and creator of mercy, rain down merciful blessings on them.
Merry may be lost to your present, but she is certainly not lost to your future.
With regard to the "Bibilical Lemon" that God doesn't give us more than we can handle, I have read many times that one should never say this to someone who is grieving the loss of a child. This feeble attempt at helping a grieving parent completely misses the mark in terms of providing comfort and may in fact have the opposite effect. The idea that God selects the strong parents to handle such a horrible thing as if they have just won the cosmic lottery of having their children taken away is ridiculous. Any of us would gladly prefer to be viewed as "weak" and unable to "handle" any such tragedy of this proportion! No one has ever said this to me and I pray that no one ever does. I will be sure to let them know that this Biblical lemon has been officially struck from the record and is no longer allowed to be used as a cliche platitude in comforting bereaved souls!
I love the humor and wit of your writing. It is good to chuckle every now and then, even in our grief! Thank you. Diane
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