more than we can handle

more than we can handle

1 Corinthians 10:13 says:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Did any of you catch the two-hour special about the Van Ryn/Cerak story on Dateline NBC on Friday? I thought it was really good. If you missed it, you can read the transcript here.

(Side note: I bought the book “Mistaken Identity” and read it last week. It was really good! A fast read, but the story was honest and showed how God worked through this particular circumstance. I am amazed at the faith of these two families. You can read an excerpt of the book here.)

Something came to mind as I was watching the show. Matt Lauer was asking the Ceraks if they followed the Van Ryn’s blog about Laura’s daily progress during the five weeks before they found out that who they thought was Laura was really Whitney. Whitney’s dad replied:

I read it pretty much every day, I would get on. And at one point I said, “I just wonder, Colleen, how we would handle it if that was our daughter? I just don’t know how strong a parent I am. Would I be able to handle taking care of a daughter that’s been in a serious accident knowing that maybe she’s going to be a vegetable for the rest of her life?” And I’ll just be honest with you. At that point we just said, “We’re thankful that Whitney’s gone and that the Van Ryns are strong enough to deal with the situation that they’re dealing with.”

My mind went back to that verse in 1 Corinthians, about God not giving us more than we can handle. I have no idea why God allowed this situation to happen; I’ll probably never know. But I wonder if one reason was because God knew the Van Ryns could handle the uncertainty better than the Ceraks. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and I wonder if this was how He shielded the Ceraks from something He knew they couldn’t handle, and put the trial in the responsibility of the Van Ryns.

Perhaps I’m wrong; that wasn’t the reason at all. But at the same time, I think it’s comforting to know that I serve a God who is in complete control, and that through Him I can face anything. He loves me so much that He isn’t interested in seeing me fail.

Just a little thought for today. :-)

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