God will never give you more than you can handle (or will He?)

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this. It sounds good doesn’t it? Especially when you are going through a difficult time in your life. The only problem is I’m not so sure it’s true. I think about Moses when the Israelites left Egypt. Shortly after leaving they found themselves with the Red Sea on one side and the entire Egyptian army closing in on the other. I’m pretty sure that was more than Moses could handle. How about Gideon? Remember him? God called Gideon to rescue the Israelites from the Midianites (not a real nice bunch of guys). To say Gideon was a reluctant leader would be a huge understatement (Judges 6). Not only that, but after assembling his army, God told him it was too big so instead of going into battle with an army of 32,000; God paired it down to 300. I’m pretty sure that was more than Gideon could handle.
Want a modern day examples. Remember Bernie Madoff? He’s the guy who defrauded thousands of investors (some of them his friends) out of billions of dollars. I have a good friend who had a similar experience. He invested all his money with a good friend who took every penny. He’s already lost his house, the bank came and got his cars this week and he’s penniless. They did all the right things: they prepared well for their retirement, they have been very generous with their time and money over the years, they are committed to serving God and have made a significant impact on the kingdom of God, yet they find themselves homeless and penniless and instead of enjoying their retirement, they are both looking for work. I’m pretty sure this has been more than my friends can handle. This is just one of many stories of people I know who are in difficult times and I’m guessing if we sat down over a cup of coffee, you could share some stories of your own.
My personal belief is that God does indeed allow things in our lives that are more than we can handle. What I don’t believe is that God allows things in our lives that HE can’t handle. Just read about the disciples, it’s the story of a group of guys who kept finding themselves in situations where Jesus had to bail them out. And what was the result, their faith in God kept increasing (which was kind of important since it wouldn’t be long until they were running the company) to the point that after Jesus left for heaven, their lives were perfect examples of men who put their complete faith in God.
These are hard times for many people, and while I don’t want to give one cent answers to million dollar questions, maybe these are really opportunities for us to put our dependence in God and not in ourselves. Here’s what I know, either you are in one of those really hard things, you’re just coming out of one of those really hard things, or you are heading into one of those things (some people accuse me of having the spiritual gift of discouragement!)
My penniless friend is a great example of this. For me, I’d be heading to the pawn shop to buy a gun and start looking for my “good friend” who took all my money (at least in prison I’d be guaranteed three square meals and a bed to sleep in). For him, he’s looking for God in all this and while it hasn’t been easy, I’m confident that’s exactly what he’ll find.

Class V Faith

I don’t know how many of you have ever white water rafted, but I have. Now I’m not talking about one of those sissy rivers in North Georgia like the Ocoee; I’m talking about the real deal. I’m talking about the Gauley River in West Virginia. For most of the year, the Gauley is a very nondescript quiet river; that is until Gauley Season. Starting in September, the Corp of Engineers begins a series of controlled releases through the Summersville Dam which feeds the Gauley River. Those releases turn this quiet tame river into one of the best white water rivers in the country. It is full of class IV and V rapids with names like Sweet’s Falls, Lost Paddle, Upper and Lower Mash, and Pure Screaming Hell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui7YQ2XDkU4&feature=PlayList&p=2B5BD3DE8E5F4770&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=43v=Ui7YQ2XDkU4&feature=PlayList&p=2B5BD3DE8E5F4770&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=43).

If you Google Gauley River, you’ll see all kinds of pictures and videos; nothing of which can prepare you for what you are about to endure. First of all, it’s cold (remember, this is October in West Virginia). This is only a problem until you actually get on the river because after you’re on the river, you don’t have time to think about the cold and peeing in your pants (which you’ll do on almost every rapid) has a tendency to keep you warm. Second, none of the instructions you have received about paddling, what to do in case you fall out, etc. can prepare you for what you hear. That’s right, before you actually see the rapids, you hear them; the big ones sound like a train. I still remember that first rapid, it was something called a hydraulic preceded by a five foot drop. A hydraulic is a big boiling whirlpool of water. If you don’t have enough momentum traveling into a hydraulic, you get sucked in and sucked down. If you’re lucky, after the hydraulic sucks you down, it throws you down the river. If you’re unlucky, you pop back up in the hydraulic and get sucked down again and again and again. There are huge undercut boulders that the river flows under where you can be sucked in and drown (that’s where I fell in!) And once you’re in the raft, you’re in for the duration. Even if you could get out you’re in the land of Deliverance and we all know how that turned out.

I have discovered that my spiritual life has been challenged over the past several months in similar ways as my physical life was challenged on the Gauley. I have heard lots of people talk about living by faith over the years. It sounds very spiritual, very exciting, very adventurous, etc. It’s kind of like rafting the Gauley, in fact I bet a bunch of you are saying, “Man, I can’t wait to try that!” The only problem is that there’s a big difference between talking about rafting the Gauley and actually doing it. It’s one thing to hear and see people doing it and actually being in a raft heading towards that first class V rapid. When I think about it, there are not many people I know that I would put in that “living by faith” category. And by “living by faith” I mean living in such a way that if God doesn’t come through for you, you’re sunk. Now, I’m not there, but I feel like my raft is taking me closer and closer to that rapid. I began working full time with Source of Light this summer and received my last paycheck from Landmark August 1. I now find myself in a position where I am more dependent on God than I have ever been. Verses like “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear,” and “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God,” have become very challenging. Sometimes I feel like I have bipolar faith, one moment I feel confident God will meet my needs, the next I wonder if those verses are really true. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining or looking for people to feel sorry for me (at this moment I’m at the confident end of the spectrum), I’m just saying that talking about living by faith and living by faith are about the same as talking about the Gauley River and getting in the raft.

Guest blogger

In honor of the first day of school, this post is compliments of Parker Millican. Parker is an 8th grader at the school where my wife teaches. Last year he was in her class and throughout the year collected quotes from Judy. So I present to you (compliments of Parker Millican)

Quotes from Mrs. Titus

Are you yakin up the yin-yang?
Whatever floats your boat?
Quite your whiny baggin’.
You turnin’ to the dark side?
Hold your taters!!!!
Are you smellin’ the coffee?
Stop bein’ squirrelly!
It’s your own little red wagon.
You yakin up the wazoo?
Stick that in your pipe and snoke it!!
Son of a sack sucker
Lump it
No more halabalu
Zip the lip
In a red hot minute
Push your pencil
Chatty Cathy
No chicken scratch

For those of you who have had Mrs. Titus, please feel free to add to the list.

Modern Day Menonites

Did you know they sell (or used to sell) Christian breath mints at Christian Bookstores. I don’t know about you, but this is a great relief to me. I’ve always had this sneaky suspicion that those “secular” mints have something in them that make me sin more. And besides, imagine being in a crowd and busting out your Christian mints, I’m sure the whole crowd would accept Christ right there on the spot!
When I take a close look at culture, it seems to me that as Christians we spend too much time trying to copy culture and too little time trying to influence it. Think about it, we have Christian clothes (take your pick), Christian dating services (Equally Yoked), Christian awards programs (Dove Awards) amongst others. Now, I don’t have a problem with any of these, I think all of these have value (except maybe the Dove awards. I mean can you imagine back in the day, “And the winner for best song of the year is…….Psalm 37” and “The song writer of the year is ………King David.”). The real danger of this Christian subculture is when it extends to our activities. We're at the point where not only can we wear and hear everything Christian, but we can now “do” everything Christian. It is possible, especially for teenagers and those of us who work for Christian ministries, to have little or no interaction with the world. Our kids go to church on Sunday, Christian school on Monday through Friday, and Six Flags (Christian music weekend of course) on Saturdays. For all practical purposes, we have turned into modern day Mennonites. (You know, the guys who wear funny clothes and drive horse drawn carriages).
I know what I have described is real, because it’s my family. I work for a Christian organization and my wife works for the Christian school my son attends. I can remember our pastor asking us to make a list of all the people we knew who did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I did not have a single person that lived within 100 miles on my list! It’s pretty hard to be salt and light to a world that we don’t interact with. Many people who put their kids in Christian schools have them there to keep them away from the world. My big fear about having my son in a Christian school is that it will do just the opposite. That he will become so comfortable in this Christian subculture that we have created and that he will lose his burden for the world. It’s pretty hard to be salt and light to a world you don’t interact with.
So here’s my question. When was the last time you had a “God conversation” with someone far from God? Been awhile? Maybe you should do something about that and start building some relationships with some lost people.