Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.’
You've probably all heard the commentary: God doesn't give you more than you can handle. I've never been comfortable with that thought, for a variety of reasons. The first is, God doesn't give us everything we have. Cancer isn't from God. Hatred and warfare are not from God. Sometimes we give ourselves problems. Sometimes other people give us problems. And sometimes bad stuff happens. God doesn't give it to us. And the other reason is, there are times, whether they have ever happened in your life or not, when you get WAY MORE than you can handle. That's just the reality.
The Israelites had lots of problems, and they didn't come from God. They came from Pharaoh. They came from the Philistines and their armies. And they came from the Israelites themselves, in the form of fear. So God led the people to Israel in a roundabout way to keep their fear at bay. To keep them safe. To make sure they felt safe. No - the phrase I like a lot better is not "God doesn't give you more than you can handle." I think it's much more true to say "God handles whatever problems you get."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This devotional message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. Join us for worship this weekend. Beginning this weekend, we change to our summer worship schedule. Saturday night worship at 5 pm and Sunday morning at 9 am. Both with Holy Communion. This week only, "Blessing of Bicycles" Saturday night! Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for full calendar and information and respond to this email message to request to be removed from our distribution list or to be added.
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