Off the Beaten Path: Just Enough for Today

Do you ever look at others who are enduring difficult ordeals and wonder how they are making it? Do you sometimes fret over the future, worrying that if you were to encounter certain predicaments you would never be able to shoulder them.

Take courage, my friend. The Bible teaches that God's grace is sufficient for every need. But it also teaches that He doles out His precious grace only as needed. And all the good things that come to us through that channel of abundant grace are also measured out to us proportionately with our need.

When you need extra strength, He will provide it. When your patience is tried more than usual, He will help you bear up. When you are required to serve more than you could possibly imagine serving, He will replenish you and give you a generous spirit. When others are taking from you and needing more from you than you feel you have to give, He will pour into you so you can give even more. And when you tire and fatigue, He will restore your strength and give rest to your body, mind, and soul.

So today, as a new week begins, take courage in knowing that He already has stored up for you all that you will require this week. And when it's time, He'll give it to you.

Are you fretting over spending time with testy extended family members during the holidays? He will give you sweet graciousness with which to enjoy them.

Are you responsible for preparing the huge Thanksgiving feast and welcoming any number of hungry folks into your home for the festivities? He will give you a spirit of loving hospitality and the energy to get it all done.

Are you wrestling with financial burdens and big decisions? He will give you wisdom beyond your experience.

Are you fighting off a lingering cold, a returning migraine, arthritis, the aches and pains of aging, or a nasty bug? He will strengthen you and fortify you for the fight.

Are you working through weighty family decisions? He will give you His perspective and timely answers.

Hang in there, dear friend. It's a common misunderstanding that God will not give us more than we can handle. That's not what the Bible says. Many people come to that faulty conclusion based on two different scriptures:

You see, 1 Corinthians 10:13 is speaking of temptations. God will not allow us to be tempted without also providing a way out. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to handle, so long as we choose correctly to take the way out He has provided. But this passage is not talking about burden bearing.

Quite honestly there are many times God gives us burdens to bear that we cannot, on our own, bear. Why would He do that? So that we would cry out to Him and run to Him for help. Remember, in our weakness, His strength is best displayed. And that's one of God's divine purposes for our lives--to showcase His glory through our humility, obedience, and submission. When we find more on our plates than we can handle, He steps in and provides the solutions, the strength, the resolve, the grace.

So if you are facing something big today, this week, this moment, don't be overwhelmed when it seems that indeed God has given you more than you can bear. Fact is, He probably has. But, if you will go to Him and expect help from Him, He will surely give it...proportionate to the need, just enough, at just the right time.