In the book of Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve, "you may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden -- except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die." (Gen 2:16-17)
Enter Satan. (and his tricky little ways)
"Did God really say that you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"
"Of course not!" says Eve, "He just said we couldn't eat from that one tree over there.
If we eat from it or even touch it, we will die."
(Genesis 3, my translation)
Wait, huh? God never said they couldn't touch the tree -- just that they couldn't eat from it!
I wonder how many times I "quote" God incorrectly. How many times I put words in His mouth. How we can totally miss it, even if we spend each and every day walking in the garden with Him.
It's this:
"God will never give you more than you can handle"
...
nope. It's not in there.
Although I'm sure we all wish it was! Wouldn't that make life easier?
The Bible does say that we are equipped to fight against any temptations (from sin) that we come across.
"The tempations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptations to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (1 Cor.10:13)
But most people use this phrase (in reference to the above passage) when they are going through a hard time or situation.
And ya know what? He will give you (or allow) more than you can handle. He does! Because if he didn't, and we really could handle everything life throws at us, we wouldn't need Him would we?
And I need Him. Desperately.
Maybe we should rephrase this to "God will not give us more than HE can handle."
***
I'm challenged by Eve's mistake to really know the Word of God - to seek out the truth - and not allow Satan to trip me up.
*For my blog friends who don't know, I help lead worship on occasion at church. The idea of seeking brought my mind to a song I sing with the awesome, Stephanie. (fast forward to minute 11 or enjoy the whole worship service and message on GOD - who better?)*
"The more I seek You,
the more I find You.
The more I find You,
the more I love You.
I wanna sit at Your feet,
drink from the cup in Your hand,
lay back against You and breath,
feel Your heart beat.
This love is so deep,
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in You're peace.
It's overwhelming."
- Kari Jobe.
"Keep on seeking, and you will find." - Matt. 7:7
10 comments:
Loved this post!! You are so inspiring! We really do NEED Him, more so than we even know! And I also love this song..... Thankful for you today, friend! xoxo.
wow i LOVE THIS!!<3
This is SUCH AN AWESOME POST! Thank you so much for allowing God to speak through you. You are exactly right, people often use that phrase wrong. I want to need him daily. I am so thank ful that I found your blog and I can't wait to read more.
What a wonderful post. You are such a light to everyone seeking to learn more about Christ and His Word. :) Thank you for sharing!
What a wonderful post. You are such a light to everyone seeking to learn more about Christ and His Word. :) Thank you for sharing!
love it!!!
www.aroundlucia.com
www.aroundlucia.com
So. I have read this post about 12 times because I love it and the words that I know the Lord has spoken through you, so I thought I would leave a comment, but I am not totally sure what I want to say about this post! I know that I love reading your posts about the things God is showing you in everyday life. It is cool to see that you have some of the same struggles as I do in my spiritual life and your transparency through your blog posts is inspiring! By all the comments before mine, you are clearly a role model for a lot of people, including me! :) Love you!
I seriously think I am in love with everything you write! I get chills. God is using you, girl. :)
I love the idea of desperation. We are all so desperate for God whether we know it or not. I think the times we can realize it are the times we seek more and chase harder.
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