APRIL 15, 2015
Too Much For Me
O My
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. —Matthew 26:39
Read:
Matthew
26:36-46
“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 wasn’t “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 out so that you can endure it” (niv). But the context of these words is temptation, not suffering.
We can choose the way out of temptation that God provides, but we can’t 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.
Father, I feel vulnerable and weak. I know You are my refuge and
strength, my help in trouble. I call upon Your name, Lord. Hold on to me.
With God behind you and His arms beneath you,
you can face whatever lies ahead.
INSIGHT: Despite the fact that the crucifixion of
Jesus was part of the divine plan for the restoration of humanity, Jesus was
still apprehensive about the physical suffering He was about to endure. This
fear is one of the strongest evidences of His humanity.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
