There is a notion in Christianity today that goes something like this: “God will not put more on you than you can handle,” or this: “he picked you to go through this because you are up to it or just plain strong enough.” Or something like that.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The notion just alluded to lifts us and our abilities up almost as if we don’t need God. In real fact, there are many things we are going through or will go through that are simply beyond us and our strength. Sometimes the struggles we go through in this life are overwhelming to us and our ability to withstand. Paul himself references such an event in his own life:
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living. 9 Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from so great a risk of death, and he will deliver us. We have set our hope on him that he will deliver us yet again. (2 Cor. 1:8– 10, NET Bible)
We also find in these verses there is purpose to this reality. Paul never really gives a detailed description of what happened that brought him to despair to the degree that it felt “as if the sentence of death had been passed against us.” This was; however, clearly an absolutely hopeless situation. But in that hopeless situation that was life-threatening, Paul finds God’s hand of purpose for he says it was “so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”
And Paul, having come through this trial, knows it will come again in some other form as he proclaims, “We have set our hope in him that he will deliver us yet again.” Our trust in God today will strengthen our confident resolve to engage future trials as we witness his hand of deliverance. From complete hopelessness to complete hope. Hope comes ultimately through a complete and utter trust in God, no matter the scope or pain of your dilemma.
It is both revealing and fascinating to notice just a few verses prior in this text Paul referring to God as the Father of mercies. We can depend on our God in any and every trial we encounter, every crucible thrust upon us for it is part of his very nature to be our Father of mercies.
I pray today that the Father of mercies will show you his presence even as you trust totally in him as he delivers you from the crucible that overwhelms you today.
God is, by his very nature a rescuer.
His ultimate rescue of us was carried out by his Son, Jesus Christ on the cross.
He truly is your Father of Mercies!
©2019 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
_________________________________________________________________________________
We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:
"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”
If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church. If you live in the Weslaco/Rio Grand Valley area of Texas, let me invite you to the church I attend, Mid-Valley Assembly (www.midvalleyassembly.com).
Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.
Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.
Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).
Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.
Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.
Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.
©2022 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
Comments