sometimes He does give you more than you can handle

There's this wild rumor that has spread for as long as I've been alive. I am sure you've heard it. People love to say, "God won't give you more than you can handle."

LOL

That's just not true. He does allow life to seem like way too much sometimes. He does allow it to seem, at times, that everything is out of control. The truth is, He's always in control no matter how chaotic circumstances may look. BUT I really do believe that sometimes He gives us more than we can handle.

Just give me a second to explain. The Lord is for you. He's on your side. He will never leave or forsake you. He is love. And love is what He does.

It's not like He's up there in heaven throwing obstacle after obstacle after sickness after trial and suffering at us until He sees us unable to juggle everything; just so He can watch us crash and burn. No. That's not loving and that's not Him. BUT I do believe He ALLOWS things and seasons and circumstances to occur that seem like way too much. But I think He allows it so we can refocus our attention on Him and come to the realization that we need Him way more than we're willing to admit (or even think) we do.

Now take a look at Job. Do you think Job had all of those horrible circumstances and situations totally handled? No. Do you think it was too much? Um, YEAH. But Job trusted. He had faith that the Lord would rescue him. He had faith that the Lord would be his strength when he had none, that the Lord would be his joy when it seemed like there was nothing to be joyful about. He had faith that the Lord would be His comfort when everything in his life was absolute chaos. Job did something so incredible and it often gets overlooked.

I absolutely believe the trials and sufferings Job faced were "more than he could handle." But guess what; there's a lesson in there. The thing is, we are supposed to rely on the Lord for everything. Literally EVERYTHING. But so often, we have this mindset that we can tackle most things on our own. In our normal day to day routines, we feel like we've got it handled and we keep God in our pocket to pull Him out when something big happens and we need His help.

This is a dangerous mindset. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). Yes, that is true. BUT apart from Him, I can do nothing (John 15:5). NOTHING. I walk through life so often not even realizing that I'm trying to do things in my own strength. I apply to grad schools and think I can do it on my own. But I can't.

Apart from Him I am nothing and I can do nothing. Why am I not relying on Him for everything in every moment? At what point in my life did I think, "Nope, I don't need Him. I got this on my own. Yeah, I know He's omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, perfect, just, mighty, miraculous, a healer, etc. But I can do it without Him. Yeah, sure, He created the world and everything and sent His only Son to die in my place so I can live eternally with Him, but I don't need His help. I can do this on my own. Yes, I know He has raised the dead to life, eliminated sickness, parted the Red Sea, done miraculous signs and wonders, but it's alright. I've got this on my own."

Of course it's never that blatantly obvious in our minds that that's what we are doing.

But let me get back to the point. Our God loves us so deeply (John 3:16). His love is literally perfect (1 John 4:7-21). He's not a petty God that just wants to stick it to us at times to spite us with an "I'll show you!" mindset. No, that's who we are as sinners. I am a firm believer, however, that He's always speaking (John 10:27). There's always a lesson He is teaching us.

And in those seasons where it's just too much. I think the lesson is quite obvious. You can't do it on your own. It's too heavy. It's too much. We need to rely on Him. We need to surrender control. We need to trust Him in the waiting, trust Him in the dark, trust Him in the uncertainty.

He tells us to cast all our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). I don't know about you, but words like easy and light sound pretty appealing to me -- especially in a season of trials and suffering or in the face of adversity.

So when I'm completely overwhelmed trying to process the death of a precious 7 year old boy whom I loved dearly, and my grandpa is diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and Alzheimer's, and my uncle has hepatitis C that has progressed to cirrhosis of the liver, and my grandma is unconscious and unresponsive and we have to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital and then when she's home again she falls and splits her head open, and when my mom is in a car accident and has burns and bruises up and down her body and the neurologist comes back with a scan and says there is a funny little spot on her brain that a neurosurgeon needs to check; YEAH, I think it's safe to say it's too much to handle. But it's only too much to handle if I'm trying to do it on my own and in my own strength.

There's no such thing as too much or too big or too far gone for God. He is limitless. He is eternal. He is everything and everywhere.

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14)

"But He said to me, 'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. But in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

xo

He walks with me through fire.

"Why am I discouraged?
     why is my heart so sad?
  I will put my hope in God!
     I will praise Him again --
     my Savior and my God!"
          Psalm 42:11

"If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first."
          John 15:18

"When you go through deep waters,
     I will be with you.
  When you go through rivers of difficulty,
     you will not drown.
  When you walk through the fire of oppression,
     you will not be burned up;
     the flames will not consume you."
          Isaiah 43:2

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These verses have been heavy on my heart lately. I have been discouraged. My heart has been sad. I have felt hated and betrayed. I have been going through deep waters & rivers of difficulty. I am walking through the fire of oppression.

But I have hope.

I worship a G-d who will walk through the fire with me. He DOES walk through the fire with me. (Daniel 3)

Suffering is necessary in the Christian life. Every season of suffering I walk through gives me a deepened relationship with my Maker & my Father. I always say, "it's in the dark places His light shines the brightest." And I believe that with every ounce of my being. If it weren't for the dark places and the hard places, I wouldn't appreciate who He is nearly as much and I wouldn't appreciate the bright, joyful times.

But as I've learned, there are two kinds of suffering: productive suffering and unproductive suffering. I so desperately want to be productive in my suffering -- to surrender all control to my Father, to put my hope and my trust in Him, to wrap myself in His loving arms of comfort, and to cover myself in His peace. To rid my heart of bitterness and selfishness, to look past what is in this moment and see there are far better things ahead because the Lord promises good to me. To simply BE in His presence and cling to Him.

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The past year and a half has taught me so much.  I've learned that I used to place my identity in all the wrong places. I didn't know my worth. I doubted that the Lord was speaking to me and that I could hear His voice (John 10:27). But I've seen the light. The truth has been revealed to me. My identity is in Christ. I am of immeasurable worth because my Father and the Creator of my heart is El-Shaddai - G-d Almighty - and He claims me as His own and He calls me His own special treasure (Deuteronomy 7:6).

So why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?

Because even though I KNOW these attributes of G-d and I KNOW where my identity is and I KNOW my worth -- I often forget. I'm so easily blinded by man and what mere mortals have to say about me.

But then I remember: He went before me. Jesus has gone before me. He was betrayed. He was hated. To the point of death on a cross.

He says, 
"If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you."
John 15:18-19

He called me out of this world. In 1 Peter 2:11, we are called strangers in this world. Foreigners. So when I feel hated or betrayed or like I just don't belong, it's because I don't. I have been called out of conformity.

So when you feel betrayed, know they hated Him before they hated you. It is the enemy's goal to cause division. Let us not give him a foothold.

"But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you."
Luke 6:27-28

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"When you walk through deep waters,
     I will be with you.
  When you go through rivers of difficulty, 
     you will not drown.
  When you walk through the fire of oppression,
     you will not be burned up;
     the flames will not consume you."
          Isaiah 43:2

Remember that old story in the book of Daniel chapter 3 with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Where King Nebuchadnezzar is going to throw them into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to his golden statues and fake gods.

This story has been one of my very favorites these past few months. I heard that story a thousand times growing up. But there's an incredible couple of verses in Daniel 3 that I seemed to have missed growing up -- or maybe they just didn't carry such weight when I was younger.

King Nebuchadnezzar has just been informed that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego have refused to bow down to his gold statue. He is furious and demands they come before him. He gives them one last chance to bow down to the statue before he is going to throw them into the blazing furnace. Their response blows me away,

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. BUT EVEN IF HE DOESN'T, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will NEVER serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
Daniel 3:16-18

What an incredible faith they exhibited. They knew they worshiped a G-d mighty enough to save them from the fiery furnace. They had faith and confidence that He WOULD save them. But they knew that EVEN IF HE DIDN'T, He is still good.

"L-rd, I believe; help my unbelief!"
Mark 9:24

This is so often my prayer. L-rd, I believe; help my unbelief. I want a faith like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Moments from being thrown into the fire and they stood firm and faithful to the L-rd.

Maybe you know the end of the story? Nebuchadnezzar is infuriated by this response from the 3 young men, so he orders the flames be turned up 7 times hotter and has them thrown into the fire. The guards tending to the flames died from the heat, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked among the flames unscathed. And a fourth man was seen walking among them.

We worship a G-d who will walk through fire with us. He will not let you be burned up.

So the next time you find yourself going through rivers of difficulty or walking through the fire of oppression, I hope you take comfort in knowing that the G-d of the universe is walking through it with you. The flames will not consume you.

XOXO

What I Would Tell My High School Self

For the past two years, I have taught Sunday school to Kindergarten through 4th graders. It was challenging, but so rewarding and one of the most growing experiences of my life.

My last Sunday was about a month ago.

Instead of my usual routine, the youth pastor had me join "the big kids."

In the leader meeting before church on this particular Sunday, the youth pastor, Nissa, gave all of the leaders an assignment: if you could go back and tell your high-school-self something, what would it be?

I took this assignment very seriously. And here is what I came up with.

PLANS

You can't plan your life. The Lord has a plan for you. Ultimately, you want HIS plan for your life because nothing you think up or dream up will ever come close to the Lord's plan. I tried to plan my life; who I would marry, where I would live, how many kids I would have and each of their names, what my profession would be... Everything. And when it all came crashing down, it was devastating. I was broken, bitter, angry and confused. It took a long road to healing for me to understand that you can never plan your life on your own. Nothing in this life is certain except for the Lord's unending love. Through His comfort, strength, peace and joy, I realized I don't even want MY plans. His plans are greater because HE is greater. He knows my heart. He knows my every thought. He knows what is best for me & He knows my future. There is no need to worry because the Creator of the universe holds my life and my world in His hands. I don't want my small, petty plans to come true. I want to see His plan unfold.

IDENTITY

Your identity is not in who you are or what you do; your identity is in WHOSE you are. And I am His. I am the Lord God's. Jesus Christ bled and died for ME; that I may live with him forever. It was my sin that held Him on the cross and He knew my name and every sin I would commit as He hung there. He conquered death and forgave me. Oh, what a love.

I used to find my identity in other things. I found my identity in my boyfriend. I lost who I was in a relationship because I was no longer an individual; I was no longer Cara. I identified myself as his girlfriend; as half of a relationship. And when that relationship ended, I didn't know who I was anymore. I lost myself.

I found my identity in my grades at school -- which left me always feeling like a failure because I could never be good enough. This is not the Lord's intention for us. We are not defined by boyfriends or grades. I am a child of God. I am His. That is my identity. And that, I can never lose. That won't fail.

FULFILLMENT

You will never be fulfilled by worldly things. The things of this world are temporary. This life is temporary. You will never be fulfilled by having more money, more clothes, a newer car. Only He can fulfill you. He knows your every need.

He lives in me and that is how I am fulfilled.

Alcohol will never fulfill you. Don't even go down that path. It will only lead to destruction. The ONLY thing that will fulfill you is the one who created your heart. And He WANTS to be that for you. Only He can make you whole; comfort you in times of trouble, give you strength when you have none, give you joy when circumstances are so dark you forget what the light looks like. He is truth. He is life. And it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

XOXO