Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please go this video link to hear Steven Curtis Chapman singing the poignant song His Strenght Is Perfect, reminding all believers that we need His strength to cover our weaknesses and to give us direction when we’re confused in life.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 10: 13 [NKJV] …
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
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Highlight Passage [Context] #1 – NKJV: 1st Corinthians 10: 1-22 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passages #1: Deuteronomy 31: 7 – Moses to Joshua [NKJV] … ” …
8 And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
Reference Passages #2: Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …
5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on our own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
Reference Passages #3: 2nd Corinthians 12: 9-10 [NKJV] …
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Reference Passages #4: James 1: 12 [NKJV] …
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
My Journal for Today: Hey Christian! Ever been confused, befuddled, felt lost, or just plain overwhelmed by life? Maybe you can identify with the attached photo, either now or sometime in the past. Well, in such circumstances perhaps you’ve had a well-meaning fellow Christian say something like, “Don’t worry, God never allows us into any of life’s circumstances that we can’t handle.” And when you heard that bit of advice, you, like me, probably just wanted to scream … “BALONEY!!!”
Well, your well-meaning, but misguided, friend may have been giving his/her advice based on a misinterpretation of the highlight scripture passage from today’s Our Daily Bread, … 1st Corinthians 10: 13, which is a passage that many have memorized and try to use to help believers realize that the “temptations” (or the Greek word can also be translated, “tests, trials, tribulations, or troubles”) of life are experienced by everyone. And, though we experience these trials, the truth is that God is always faithful to be there with us and to help us deal with those circumstances. In other words, as Steven Curtis Chapman sings in the linked song above, God will provide us with His strength to handle life when our strength is gone.
But don’t let anyone tell you that God never allows His children into anything that we cannot handle; because our Lord allows things like that to happen all the time, doesn’t He? He often allows such things to occur just to show us how much we need to depend on Him. What about Job; … or there was David after the Bathsheba incident? Or what about the Apostles out there in the storm on the Sea of Galilee or the confusion Peter felt after he had denied Jesus and watched His Lord be crucified? Or there was Paul when he prayed and prayed for that painful thorn to be taken from him; but God just wouldn’t do it (see 2nd Cor. 12: 9-10).
So, I think we know that God will allow temptations or trials or troubles into our lives which we cannot handle on our own. And that’s His strategy to show us that we need rely on Him for the grace to handle these trials or to follow Him from confusion to clarity. And when we do surrender to receive His enabling/empowering grace, He’s certainly able and very willing to provide us the strength or direction to handle the challenges of life. Just meditate on the reference Scriptures quoted above which came to my mind today in writing this blog, and you’ll realize that God will truly never forsake us; and in fact, He even goes ahead of us to provide us with the challenges which reshape us into His image.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, thank You for being there for me in my times of weakness or confusion. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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