When You're Carrying Too Much - Your Nightly Prayer - October 25th

Your Nightly Prayer

Audio By Carbonatix

By Britt Mooney, Crosswalk.com

Your Nightly Prayer

When You’re Carrying Too Much
Your Nightly Prayer
By Britt Mooney

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” - Psalm 68:19

SOMETHING TO PONDER

In the American South, people say certain phrases that sound spiritual. A good example is, “God will never give you more than you can handle.” As I studied and read the Bible for myself, I realized this doesn’t exist in Scripture. In fact, it says the opposite.

God hasn’t called us to live a life we could do on our own. The Bible speaks clearly about the insufficiency of our own works (Isaiah 64:8, Ephesians 2:8-9). And yet, God commissions us to follow the example of God in the flesh, living heaven on earth. Therefore, he calls us to a life and mission we’re totally unable to “handle.” Not in our own strength, at least.

Which is why the Father gives us the Spirit of the Son to live like the Son. We couldn’t do it otherwise.

The Bible also contains numerous accounts of God allowing people to experience situations where only he could deliver them: Israel at the Red Sea, David before Goliath, Daniel in the lion’s den, and more. Scripture provides these examples to encourage us to live by faith and grace, not by our ability (Hebrews 11).

It shouldn’t surprise us, then, when God allows us to face a situation where we’ll only survive if we rely upon him. In fact, James tells us to rejoice when we find ourselves in these trials, since it increases our faith (James 1:2-4). Paul promises God’s help when we’re tempted beyond our ability, saying the Lord will provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).

In reality, the phrase should be, “God will never give us more than HE can handle.” Living by faith in God, empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit, nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37).

Most of us are experiencing such trials and overwhelming burdens right now. But God hasn’t called us to carry these burdens. Instead, he calls us to let him “handle them,” empowering us to stay faithful while he works for salvation and deliverance on our behalf. In this way, we learn how to rely more upon his strength instead of our own, watching him do the impossible in our lives.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Heavenly Father,
I confess my weakness and inability to handle life on my own, especially the trials I face. Thank you for calling me to a mission beyond my power, so I can learn to rely upon yours. Fill me with your Spirit to live like Jesus, trust you in difficult times, and rejoice as my faith grows. Carry my burdens, fight my battles, and work for my deliverance. Nothing is impossible for you, and I rest in our power today.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. What is a situation you face right now that feels impossible to “handle”?

2. What is one of your favorite biblical narratives where God delivered someone from an impossible situation?

3. What are the ways you could rely upon God’s Spirit to help you show love, compassion, and peace in the situation you currently face?

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Britt Mooney lives and tells great stories. As an author of fiction and non-fiction, he is passionate about teaching ministries and nonprofits the power of storytelling to inspire and spread truth. Mooney has a podcast called Kingdom Over Coffee and is a published author of We Were Reborn for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth as well as Say Yes: How God-Sized Dreams Take Flight.