“God never gives us more than we can handle.”
HA!
The point of trials is exactly to give us more than we can handle. By facing more than we can handle, we are forced to lean on His strength. We are forced to learn we are not sufficient in ourselves.
We learn to “not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9).
From trials, our faith, endurance, and fruits of the Spirit grow so we are able to take on more the next time. (James 1:3)
In strength-training, you deliberately exceed the accustomed load on your muscles. By pressing (safely) beyond your physical limit, you increase your muscle’s strength.
And it is hard. I sometimes tell my trainer that I hope Christ comes again before we get to the next machine.
Spiritually, all—ALL–Christians are in a God-designed spiritual strength-training program.
We are promised trouble.
We are also promised benefits from that trouble. (See What’s so Good about Bad?)
The choice is ours: we can recognize that God, our strength-trainer, has allowed the trial for our benefit, lean on Him, honor Him throughout, and keep going. Or we can whine, and complain, and crumble.
Let’s consider it all joy. (James 1:2)
