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Does God Ever Give Us More Than We Can Handle?

May15

SufferingI shared an article on my Facebook wall the other day in which a pastor makes the case that God does give us more than we can handle. I happened to agree with this suffering Christian. However, a friend of mine who loves Jesus and the Catholic Church and knows Scripture took issue with the article.

(Note: you need to have Christians – and by that I mean Jesus-following and Bible-loving folks – who don’t think like you in your life. I joked with my friend, “As iron sharpens iron, so a devout Catholic sharpens an evangelical Protestant.” It’s a joke, but it’s also true.)

The dialogue with my friend helped me get to the bottom of why I agreed with the pastor’s sentiment and what he could have done to be more clear about his statement that God gives us more than we can handle (assuming his intent was to be biblical).

Go read the article for some background if you want. I’ll wait.

While my Catholic friend brought numerous disagreements to the table, his main beef was that, through Christ, we can handle anything (Philippians 4:13), and, if we believe in God’s sovereignty, we are to believe that whatever is happening to us is God’s will (Ephesians 1:11). That fact alone should give us reason to rejoice (Philippians 4:4) and embrace the burden (James 1:2), motivating us to stand up and endure. Not to mention, my friend pointed out, that God loves His people and would not “burden us past our capability”.

(I told you this guy is sharp.)

Clearly, I couldn’t refute my friends thoughts. I agree with his Bible-supported statements, although I could take issue with his assumption about how a loving God would and wouldn’t act, per his last thought. On the whole, my friend’s arguments are right.

And, yet, I still agreed with the bulk of the article stating the (seemingly) exact opposite: God does give us more than we can handle at times.

After some thinking, I realized the discord between my friend’s correct assertions and the author’s correct assertions was due to a lack of clarity on the author’s part.

The author wrote with an unspoken presupposition in mind that made a subtle appearance toward the end of the article but should have been more prominent. Because it wasn’t, my friend jumped on the lack of clarity and assumed the author to be off his biblical rocker.

The major distinction that wasn’t made clear is this: when we operate out of our own strength, what God gives us is often more than we can handle. But when we operate in total dependence on Christ, He will supernaturally enable us to handle anything. 

So, you see, both my friend and the author are right.

We have to get to the end of ourselves – we have to be broken, unable to bear anymore in our own strength – before we learn what it is to fully rely on Christ. God knows this, which is why, I believe, He does allow us to experience more than we can bear IN OUR OWN STRENGTH. We won’t turn to Him if we can bear it all alone.

Because He loves us and out of His desire for us to be drawn into closer, more dependent, and, simultaneously, more powerful relationship with Him, He allows/causes our burdens to accumulate when we aren’t depending on Him enough so we will depend on Him enough. He lets situations become too much so we realize how much He is – enough.

So, per the article’s point, don’t tell someone who is suffering that God won’t give them more than they can bear. Instead, tell them God gives us more than we can bear so we learn how to bear all with Him, and encourage them to use their suffering to, “Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually,” (Psalm 105:4).

The Problem with Comfort Objects

May8

God wants more for us than we want for ourselves.

Which is awesome and terrifying all at the same time.

Our hearts are so broken and bent toward sin that if someone were to ask us what we want in life, our list would be pretty self-centered. My list contains things like happiness, fulfillment, healthy family and friends. I want to grow old with my first husband, and I want my kids to thrive.

These things might seem benign on the surface, but I know the real motives underneath - I want to avoid pain and maximize pleasure.

And so do you.

But God wants more for us than a good time. He wants us to live lives that matter. Comfy, cozy lives don’t accomplish much. Self-preservation seems right, and it is natural, but it misses the heart of God (Proverbs 16:25).

We’re all here for 2 reasons: to know God and to make Him known (Exodus 9:15-16). But our pursuit of pain-free living often prevents us from knowing God (and, thus, making Him known).

How?

Because we find things that feel good and provide comfort, and we latch on to them for dear life, refusing to let them go.

(Note: this is called idolatry. I know, I know, too harsh. But true.)

We are born doing this. As newborns, we literally latch on to our mother’s, for nourishment, yes, but any mother can tell you, her baby hangs around well past meal time, suckling solely for the comfort. As we grow, this pattern of behavior continues, it just manifests differently.

When all our energy is focused on our comfort objects, we don’t have much time (or room in our hearts) to draw nearer to God. Problem.

But draw nearer we must. It’s the only way we can be fulfilled for any length of time, and it’s the only way we can fulfill our life purposes – to know Him and make Him known.

So God, lovingly, gently, and Fatherly-y (like a Father?), beckons us to find our comfort in Him.

Naturally, that doesn’t typically go over well with us. Our entire lives have been spent seeking and holding on to comfort objects that weren’t Him. To put them into their proper places - lower places than the Lord – is foreign and scary and hard and scary.

But He wants better for us than we want for ourselves. So He continues to encourage the process of loosening our grips on our chosen comforts that we might find our hands free to grab onto Him, the Ultimate Comfort.

I have a feeling the sooner we I cooperate, the better it will be for all involved.

How about you?

Related articles

A Memo From God to Christians Old and New

May2

To: My Followers

From: God

Subject: Life

There will be no doing this yourself. 

Living a life with Me as your Lord – it’s not possible in your own strength.

I don’t say this because I have a superiority complex (I’m actually quite justified in feeling superior, but that’s another memo). I say this to enlighten you as to how your own heart works. I created you to need Me to live correctly.

Books, classes, sermons, good intentions, redoubled efforts, positive thinking, having a certain amount of faith, praying often enough… none of these will end your struggle to live right. They may aid you in moving in the right direction, but, ultimately, they will not enable you to conquer the affection for wrongdoing you have in your heart.

I am being quite literal when I say only I can make you live right. Me in you is the only way you will ever succeed at anything I’d ever approve of.

I’m not talking about Me enabling you to live well. I am saying anything good you do is not you at all; it’s Me. I just happen to be choosing to move and work through you. You may have the desire to do what is good, but you cannot carry it out (Romans 7:18, Galatians 5:17).

You need me, not just to be with you, but to take over you. Successful living – as I define it – cannot be accomplished any other way.

In the best sense of the word, I want to control you (Romans 8:6). And as contrary to human reason as it may seem, it is in your best interest to let Me control you (Romans 8:28-30).

All you need to do is be willing to let Me work through you. Once you consent – and you have to choose to consent countless times each day – My Spirit, within you but independent of you, does all the rest.

I know this is a mystery. But you don’t have to fully understand how it all works to obey.

Come to Me. Trust in My unfailing love for you. Let Me show you the only way you can live a life worthy of the calling you have received – by letting Me live through you (Ephesians 4:1).

Winning at Failing

Apr27

I’m not sure how it happened, but I seem to be friends with more and more people who are “green” and “organic” and “work out” and “don’t eat crap”. They never eat anything not grown in their own backyards, they make their own shampoo, and they’d have their doctorates in homeopathy if the Internet could award that sort of thing. They are amazingly energetic, focused people, and I am sincerely proud of them.

But for someone who just tries to keep her head above the ever-rising water, it can be intimidating to think about my “perfect” friends. It’s not that they ever have or ever will condemn me for my all-refined sugar diet and my synthetic-chemicals-only policy, I just feel overwhelmed when I compare myself to them. I make myself feel like a failure, and, quite honestly, from a health standpoint, I am a failure.

If health were the only area in which I wasn’t the valedictorian of awesome, that might be ok. But it’s not.

Turns out marriage is hard. I missed the pre-marital class on “putting your spouse’s needs in front of your own”. Getting this rock of a heart to accept that and implement it multiple hours (minutes?) in a row is proving difficult. Paul says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).  If the Bible is the standard (and it is), then I’d have to say I am failing at marriage too.

Apply that same verse to friendships, and I’m screwed there as well. Selfishly and vainly aptly describe how I react when friends don’t do what I want them to do. I’m not at all thinking about them and their needs, just about myself.  Again, with the failing.

How about parenting? I’m tired. “Teaching” the same lessons that never seem to stick; losing patience before breakfast is over; reacting to the ugly with ugliness of my own. I’m not going to be the poster child of a parent who does not exasperate her children (Ephesians 6:4). Not this week (year?) anyway.

There are more ways in which I fail not fit for public consumption. (You didn’t know I had that filter, did you? Yeah, add that to The Failure List).

It’s more than a pity party I’m having over here, and I’m working my way to a point, so please don’t share a “cute” Facebook image about “bucking up” and “staying positive” and various and sundry sayings that fall into the category of “not my reality”.

(I’m clearly feeling feisty today. Add that to The List, if you want.)

(I’m also using the air quotes ad nauseum. Just imagine Chris Farley reading you this post, and you’ll “feel better” about the “whole thing.”)

Who’s ready for the redemptive point of this post?

I think God brings my failures (all of them) to my attention (all at once) in order to show me a vital truth: I need Him. 

You (I) may think I already knew that about myself. And I did, in an intellectual sense. But in an experiential sense, I seem to need a tangible demonstration very a lot often. Daily, even.

Last week, when I was acutely aware of The Failure List and not so aware of my intrinsic value to God, He did some things to remind me this whole show runs on His power like a car on gasoline (or electricity, if you’re one of my green friends. Sigh.)

Two different friends in spiritual predicaments reached out to me for advice. Me. ME. The woman with The Failure List a mile long and growing. Part of me wanted to say, “I can’t help you.” And I was right, I couldn’t help them. But God through me did. The Holy Spirit brought to mind what to say, and it proved helpful (so they say). (I’m such a skeptic. Where’s my list, I need to add that.)

Another friend told me she wants me to speak at a program at our church in the fall. Me. ME. The woman with The Failure List a mile long and growing. Given that my heart is to eventually speak/teach/write as a career, I found it to be so sweet of God to have my friend think of me.

Then yesterday I took my Failure List to a place I volunteer once a week helping women who find themselves pregnant and scared and hopeless. My role is to inform the clients of all their options (abortion, adoption, parenting). The bigger goal is to love them well, showing them Jesus-love no matter who they are or what decision they want to make for their baby. The biggest goal is to spend time understanding what their spiritual beliefs are and sharing with them what mine are.

In the interest of HIPAA, I can’t tell you exactly what happened yesterday, but I can tell you the Lord used my time with one client to show me, “Your Failure List is no match for My power. I can and will use you despite your failures, and I can and will bless you despite your failures. My agenda doesn’t depend on how long or short your Failure List is, and your need for Me doesn’t depend on how long or short your Failure List is.”

If I can muster up the energy I’m going to ask God to use His energy and power to help me fix my eyes on Him instead of The List. That sounds pretty biblical.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal,” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

There is Only One Thing Worth Being Concerned About

Apr13

Any given day, I’m concerned about a lot of things.

Most of those things are trivial, as those of you who follow me on Twitter can attest to. (I’m just trying to expose you to quality music, entertain you with funny things my kids say, and wow you with heart-shaped pizza – if these things aren’t worthy of your time and attention, I mean, honestly, I don’t know what is…)

A handful of the things I’m concerned about are weightier in importance, like health and happiness of my family, for instance.

This all seems very normal and understandable.

Until I read a conversation between Jesus and Martha.

I typically read the NIV (1984) Bible. But this year I am reading through the NLT, so some of the phrasing is suspect different.

In Luke 10 we read that after she welcomed Jesus into her home, Martha went to work making sure Jesus’ visit was enjoyable. She flitted around the kitchen making a “big dinner”, concerning herself with treating her guest well. Martha knew Jesus was God, which is evident when she addressed Him as Lord (Luke 10:40). I’m sure she felt just a little bit stressed cooking for GOD. She wanted everything to be top-notch.

Meanwhile, Martha’s sister, Mary, “sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught,” (Luke 10:39).

I can imagine, as the minutes turned into hours, Martha grew irate over her sister’s lack of help preparing the meal. I can picture Martha stewing internally as she stirred food, chopped vegetables, and stressed over the perfection of it all alone, while Mary kicked back with Jesus.

Martha’s emotions finally escalated to a point she felt she had to voice them or she’d burst. “‘Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me,’” (Luke 10:40).

Martha complained to (and possibly against) God. Then she asked Jesus to choose sides. She also told Him to use His authority as a man, as a rabbi, and as God to correct her sister.

Clearly, Martha should have kept her mouth shut.

Nevertheless, she asked Jesus a question, and He answered it, just not how she would have liked Him to.

“My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her,” (Luke 10:41-42).

Apparently, Jesus would have been satisfied with some cold leftovers. Good to know if I ever find myself having to cook for Him in Heaven.

What struck me even more, though, is the middle sentence, “There is only one thing worth being concerned about.” Really? Just one? Cause I can think of at least 10 right now.

The statement begs the question, “Well, what is it?! What’s the one thing? Tell me so I can concern myself with it.” Jesus doesn’t define it out rightly, but He gives us clues about “it”.

  1. Mary has discovered it.
  2. It will not be taken away from her.

If we go back up in the text, we can figure out what Jesus is talking about.

The only thing Mary did in this story was sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to what He taught (Luke 10:39). What is she concerning herself with? The things Jesus was teaching. And when she learned those teachings, they could never be taken away from her. They’d be in her memory forever.

To be clear, I don’t think Jesus considers it “bad” that we concern ourselves with things like our families’ safety and Instagram pizza. Those things have their places, and we certainly can’t all be monks and nuns who spend their whole days studying Scripture. But the lesser things should receive lesser attention than the greater things, and Jesus is the greatest thing.

Further, in addition to focused Bible reading and prayer, I think Jesus is inviting us to concern ourselves with Him and what He’s saying throughout the day by keeping our spiritual ears open to what the Holy Spirit may be saying to us at any given moment.

If Martha had been listening to Jesus teach while she prepared the meal, I don’t think she would have been focused on the food or the labor. Her heart wouldn’t have gotten angry at her lazy sister. Instead, she probably would’ve been energized and encouraged by what Jesus was saying and cooked all the more joyfully.

And we can do that too. No matter what task we are completing or what concern we have at the moment, He ought to be our heart’s focus in the midst of those things, transforming them into opportunities for closeness with Him.

Get Comfortable

Mar28

Last Sunday our pastor talked about the Holy Spirit as a Comforter. Matt used the illustration of our children having comfort objects – blankets, stuffed animals, etc. – they can’t get to sleep without. For whatever reason, these raggedy objects calm our children in times of stress. So should the Holy Spirit for believers.

As I mulled this object lesson over (no pun intended, but then it happened, and I could have erased it, but I think it’s kind of clever, so I didn’t, so I guess I am intending it?) it occurred to me I don’t utilize the Spirit in this way. I look to Him to direct me in truth, for advice, for assurance of salvation, but I’ve never considered Him a comforter, necessarily. I don’t go to Him to be soothed.

When I feel uneasy, insecure, or unsafe, I don’t typically turn to the Holy Spirit for comfort. I turn to friends. I turn to people I know will speak truth and encouragement to me. I turn to people I love and who I am confident love me, and my spirit is soothed by their presence. They are my comforters.

Uh-oh. As soon as I had that thought, I knew it was a problem.

In the most black and white way, I commit idolatry when I look for comfort from someone other than the Comforter. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to stabilize me in times of trouble, and I’ve been looking to people who are not God to do that for me instead. Whoops.

In a less intense way, I’ve been foolish to look to people to do imperfectly what the Holy Spirit wants to do perfectly for me. I have tremendous people in my life who love me very well and support me in all kinds of life-giving ways. But they are limited. There are times they aren’t available to talk. There are times they don’t quite understand my true heart. There are times they inadvertently fail to comfort me because they don’t always know what I need.

Not so with the Spirit. He is ALWAYS with me. Day or night. And He perfectly understands exactly what I need when I need it. And He gives me the very best comfort possible because He can’t not.

And I pass Him up regularly in exchange for the comfort of my human relationships.

Am I nuts? I feel like maybe I’ve been a little nuts in that decision… like maybe that hasn’t been the best choice, to neglect to seek comfort from the Comforter.

The good news is God is eager to show me grace. I confessed the sinfulness of my ignorant choices to pursue others instead of Him when I am in need of some comfort, and He gladly forgave me and invited me into deeper awareness of the Holy Spirit’s constant presence in my life. He’s begun to show me the blessing of being aware of Him as a constant, instant soothing object.

And I bet my friends are glad about that – takes some pressure off them.  

In Acts 9:31, Luke tells us the Church “walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (ESV). May that be true of us as we grow in Him.

The Key to Greater Intimacy with God

Mar12

Do you wish God would talk to you more often? I mean really speak to you, Spirit to spirit, communicating clearly with you even though it may be inaudible to the human ear?

Are you tired of never knowing what God wants you to do? Are you bored with the Bible and often think to yourself (and occasionally complain out loud) that you don’t “get anything” out of reading it?

Jesus tells us how we can change all that.

In one plain verse in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus gives us the key to greater intimacy with God.

In the beginning of chapter 4, Jesus used a farming parable to explain to a crowd of people the different types of responses people have to the Word of God (Mark 4:1-9). Later, when they were alone, the 12 disciples asked Jesus to explain what the parable meant (Mark 4:10-23). In verse 13 Jesus asked the disciples, ”Don’t you understand this parable?”

I think it is safe to assume Jesus may have been feeling frustrated and/or disappointed with the twelve men who should have understood Jesus better than anyone. Yet, they consistently demonstrated they didn’t

And I wonder, “Lord, are You frustrated and disappointed with me when I fail to understand you, after all these years of being with You?”

And then I quickly add, “Don’t answer that.”

He dissected the parable for the slow disciples, and then Jesus gave them a piece of advice we’d do well to heed ourselves. 

“Consider carefully what you hear… With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more,” (Mark 4:24).

In other words, “Pay attention to what I say… If you apply it, I will tell you more.”

In other other words, “The key to ever-growing intimacy with Me is to, first, know My Word, and to, second, act in accordance with My Word.”

Could it be that we struggle to hear God and “get things” out of our Bible reading because God knows we won’t obey when He speaks to us? If our track record is one of hearing the Lord and then promptly ignoring Him, why would He waste His energy on continuing to try to communicate with us?

It’s only by His grace that He doesn’t completely clam up and leave us out to dry. No, He continues to be open to communicating with us despite ourselves. But, according to Jesus Himself, God is only as chatty as we are obedient.

If you want deeper intimacy with God, show Him by doing the things you already know He wants you to do, and more intimacy will follow.

Honorable Mention

Nov9

I remember my first marathon. Maybe because it was my only marathon.

I ran the whole thing – from the starting line, around the playground, around the open field behind the school, and to the finish line.

Fifth grade Field Day. I was hand-picked by my P.E. teacher, along with 8 others, to compete in the “marathon”. I was nervous. I couldn’t believe she thought so highly of me. It was a long way to go (maybe a mile and a half?), and I wasn’t so sure I could make it. But Mrs. Bateman picked me, so I rose to the occasion.

We all lined up at the starting line – four girls, five boys. Our parents, our teachers, and the entire student body lined the designated path. The bullhorn sounded. I sprinted off the line, unaware that conserving energy is generally a better strategy in a long race.

On the back side of the school property, we were too far away from the crowd to hear them. All I heard was the rocks beneath my feet that created the path outlining the school’s property. I was toward the back of the pack. I wondered if I could really finish this race.

Girls were competing against girls, and boys were competing against boys, so I really only had 3 people to beat.

But there was a problem.

God didn’t make me fast.

Athletic, yes. Competitive, yes. Coordinated, yes. But not fast.

Winding back toward the finish line, I already knew the only person I was going to beat was the slowest boy of all, Evan. I wasn’t even going to place. The unfamiliar disappointment of not being the best at a sport sunk in to my 11 year old heart.

I crossed the finish line. People cheered. But I didn’t.

image via kleertech.com

They handed me a ribbon that said “Honorable Mention”.

Seriously? What is that? It may as well have read “Lost”. Everyone knew I hadn’t accomplished anything spectacular. The ribbon just seemed to mock me.

This memory came back to me this week when God told me I treat Him as if He were an Honorable Mention ribbon.

God has been on a mission to get me to realize He is first prize, always. I rarely recognize this fact, so He is kindly helping me grow in that area. By taking away all the prized people I value more than Him.

As He says to me, “I delight in you, and I want you to delight in Me. I want to be your primary source of love, assurance, security, joy, peace, and esteem. Primary. First. Most-oft pursued and looked to.”

I’ve been gritting my teeth during this process, begrudgingly obeying Him. I’ve been saying to myself, “I don’t have my most important friends anymore… I guess I have no choice but to settle for friendship with God.”

And God says, “Hey, I’m not chopped liver. I’m no Honorable Mention. In fact, Dear One, I am first place. I’m what you’ve really wanted all along. I will fulfill you like no other.”

I haven’t experienced this yet because I am stuck dwelling on the losses. But I believe it can be true if I cooperate with God.

Trust in the Lord. Lean not on my own understanding. And He will make my paths straight. They may be straight up, but they will lead straight to Him, First Prize.

Straight Up

Nov6
image via runtheline.com

Easy

Don’t worry, Paula Abdul will not be referenced in this post. (Anymore than she already has).

There’s this verse in Proverbs you’ve probably heard before. It says, “…in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight,” (Proverbs 3:6).

I’ve typically thought of “straight” as “not crooked”. Direct. Not weaving in and out. A line from point A to point B. Straight.

And with this definition in mind, I subconsciously (?) substitute “easy” for “straight”. My flesh prefers the verse to read, “…in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths easy,” (KLT – Kelly Levatino Translation).

Yes, easy is a comfort to my soul. I like easy. I like formulas. I like a formula that says “Do X, and Y WILL HAPPEN!” Acknowledge God, and you WILL have an easy life.

But there’s a problem with this interpretation of this verse.

Do you see it?

If you’ve lived very long, you realize it isn’t true.

But we know the Bible is true. It’s not the words that are wrong. It’s my interpretation of the words. My understanding must change.

And over the weekend, it did.

Straight paths are not always easy. In fact, they can be quite arduous if they are not also flat.

Hard

The internet tells me the Manitou Incline (left) in Colorado Springs is less than one mile long, but it climbs over 2,000 feet along the way.

To be sure, the path is straight. Straight up.

It does not waste your time, winding serpentinuously up the mountain. It does not make the hiker wonder how much farther, where the end is, or which way the path will turn next.

The path is clear-cut. At anytime the hiker can lift his eyes and see the end point. The direction is sure, never changing.

But the path is anything but easy.

It is reported that world-class athletes take 20 minutes to complete this hike, while “first timers and people from lower elevations are taking a little over an hour.” To go less than a mile. On a straight path.

So it is with the Lord. “…in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” He will make our paths clear-cut. He will make our paths sure. He will make our paths certain. He will not waste our time. He will make our paths lead to the goal, and the goal will always be in sight.

But it may not be easy. It may be the hardest path we’ve ever set out on. It may be straight up. But if we acknowledge him and lean not on our own understanding, we can trust that this path is best – best for us, best for others, and best for God.

Are You Staggering?

Aug22

Sometimes life isn’t all roses.

We struggle to make sense of things. We are afflicted, both by self and by people and circumstances outside of ourselves. We don’t always (ever) understand why God allows or causes things to happen they way they do.

There’s an oft quoted verse in the Bible people lob out to those who are struggling because they don’t know what else to say. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are [God's] ways higher than your ways and [God's] thoughts than your thoughts,” (Isaiah 55:9).

While this verse is true, it’s not always comforting. “God is smarter than us, and sometimes we can’t understand what He’s doing or why.”

But sometimes we can.

Isaiah gives us some insight into why God allows (and even causes) strife in our lives.

English: A photo of a cup of coffee. Esperanto...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: ‘See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again,’” (Isaiah 55:21-22).

God is speaking to us afflicted ones. We have clouded thinking, not because we are intoxicated, but because of something we refuse to give up. Our affection for the contents of our “cups” are causing our affliction.

One of two things is happening.

We may have sin in our cup. We may not want to give up our pornography or our selfishness or our laziness. It’s comfortable. It’s us. It’s ours. And it is afflicting us.

On the other hand, the contents of our cups may not be the problem. Rather, how we feel toward the contents is what’s afflicting us. We may have our spouses, our kids, our jobs, our money, our egos, etc. in our cups – all perfectly good things. But we get into trouble because we value these things more than we value God. Or we despise these things God has given us as gifts. Or we abuse these things by using them for our own gain instead of the Lord’s glory.

Whether our contents or our attitudes toward the contents is the problem, either way, we are staggering. We are flailing about with sinful things or with sinful hearts, unable and/or unwilling to change. Our vision is blurred as though we are drunk. We are unable to see the Lord clearly.

So God, being our Father and Defender, steps in to help his drowning children. He does what we won’t do – He takes our cups.

Initially, we are like children whose parents confiscate a favorite toy. We are angry. We are hurt. We are indignant.

And God says, “I LOVE YOU! I can’t STAND seeing you hurt yourself with this cup! I don’t want you to be afflicted. I don’t want you to stagger. I don’t want to have to discipline you when you make these reckless choices. I am taking this cup from you so you will no longer be a detriment to yourself. You will never drink it again.”

Days pass. And we start to understand.

We come out of our stupor and begin to see, “That cup was no good for me. Thank You, Lord, for taking it from me when I didn’t have the power or the desire to give it to You.”

What’s in your cup? Is your cup more important to you than the Lord? Give it to Him before He takes it from you.