Daily Devotional: Monday, Sept 7

Speaker: Paul Diaz

Theme: God Won't Give You More Than You Can Handle

Weekend Music links on iTunes:  Happy Day by Tim Hughes; Not to Us by Chris Tomlin; Came to my Rescue by Hillsong United; You'll Come by Hillsong United; Shine Your Light On Us by Robbie Seay Band.
 

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:8-11

Think: This Sunday our new youth Pastor, Paul Diaz, finished up the series "Dumb Things Smart People Believe". The commonly held myth discussed this week was "God won't give you more than you can handle".

This has become so common a saying that often we assume it is scripture. It is not scripture though, and the reality is that if God didn't give you more than you can handle then you wouldn't have to go to Him with your burdens.

Pastor Paul shared with us four dumb things people believe about trials and troubles. The first of these myths is that "God is more available when things are going well in your life".

God's nearness is not based on our feelings. He is constant and as near to us as we want Him to be through good and bad times. Sometimes when we are looking at our situation we get overwhelmed and it is hard to see God in it, but His word says, "Never will I leave you or forsake you."

For Apostle Paul in our passage today his perspective made all the difference. When he faced shipwreck, torture, imprisonment and other situations that were too much for him to handle, he didn't try to deal with them but rather relied on God. Apostle Paul knew that though situations may be and often are overwhelming for us, they are NEVER too big for God to handle and only by relying on Him can we get through. Instead Apostle Paul changed his perspective to thank God for his own weaknesses so that his faith may increase.

As Pastor Paul said, getting closer to God and leaning on Him gives Him room to turn our mess into miracles.

How ofter do we find ourselves in situations we try to deal with on our own and then wonder why God hasn't changed it or felt present?

Do: Today as you ask God into a situation, make sure you allow Him room to move according to what He knows is good. Let's not try to hang onto control but give it to God with an open hand.

Pray: Father, we thank you that you never leave nor forsake us and that even when we don't feel you in a situation you are here. Please help us draw closer to you as we struggle in situations in our lives and help us encourage each other to rely on you more.

Timberlake Church | 4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, Washington 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@tlcf.org