Too Much
“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.”
Matthew 26:39
“God never gives us more than we can handle,” someone said to a father whose 5-year-old son had just lost his battle with cancer. These words, which were intended to encourage him, instead depressed him and caused him to wonder why he was not “handling” the loss of his boy at all. The pain was so much to bear that he could hardly even breathe. He knew his grief was too much for him and that he desperately needed God to hold him tight.
The verse that some use to support the statement “God never gives us more than we can handle” is 1 Corinthians 10:13, “When you are tempted, He will also provide a way of escape, so that you may be able to bear it.” But the context of these words is temptation, not suffering. We can choose the way out of temptation that God provides, but we cannot choose a way out of suffering.
Jesus Himself wanted a way out of His upcoming suffering when He prayed, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. . . . O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matt 26:38-39). Yet He willingly went through this for our salvation.
When life seems too much to bear, that’s when we throw ourselves on God’s mercy, and He holds on to us.
Bible Reading
Matthew 26:36-46.
Prayer
My Heavenly Father, When I am feeling vulnerable and weak. Help me to remember that You are my refuge and strength, my help in trouble, and that I can call upon Your name, Lord, and You will hold on to me. Thank You, Father. In Jesus name. Amen.
Thanks very true