Listen to today’s devo!

The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. (Ps. 28:8)

I heard someone say recently that God will give you more than you can handle, but he will never give you more than he can handle.

I pondered that and wondered, “Does God really give us more than we can handle?” The answer is, “Of course he does.” If God inspires you with a great idea, it probably is more than you can handle on your own, because God thinks bigger than we do. Left to our own devices, we prefer to stay in our comfort zones. Many of us like to coast, not be stretched. It’s more fun to do what we can easily accomplish rather than operate outside the box of our preferred limits.

So God, in order to help us grow, pushes the edges of our comfort and gives us challenges that seem beyond us. A careful reading of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7 will remind you that God thinks differently from us about almost everything. He wants us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. He even challenges us to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).

Who can live a perfect life, as God defines it? Not me, and, if I may be so bold, not you either! At least not without God’s help. That’s why we need the Lord to be our strength and fortress.

Trust God with the things that seem too big to manage.

Ron McClung is a retired minister in The Wesleyan Church. He and his wife, Carol, live in Michigan and enjoy spending time with their sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

© 2023 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.