• What Is The Matter With Me?
• Do you ever struggle with the fact that God gives us more than we think we can handle?

• Introduction
• We know that when a person obeys the gospel and becomes a Christian that Satan begins a full frontal, rear, sideways, bottom – top side assault.
• Satan is looking for every opportunity to cause you to fail in your Christian faith.
• We should be aware of this fact.
• Yet, we also seem to be overwhelmed with everything going on around us.
• We realize that temptations are pressuring us more than ever before.
• We feel weak.
• And yes, we do give in to temptations.
• We know that God has told us that He will not give us more than we can bear.
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure”.

• We know that verse is there, and we are trying to believe it; BUT………
• All we can question about ourselves is: “What is wrong with me?”
• Why do I continue to sin against God?
• Did you ever feel this way?
• Let us turn this around and look at some possible reasons that God allows us to have more than we can handle.

• Our Faith Needs To Grow
• When we were first introduced to Jesus and His gospel, we learned some basics. We became sinners because of our own lusts
• James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust”.
• At first, this did not bother us and for many it still does not bother them.
• But then we learned about God.
• We learned about His desire to be worshipped and obeyed (John 4:21).
• We learned that God is not pleased with our sins.
• We learned that our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2).
• We learned that we cannot get into heaven with our sin.
• We learned that we are unable to cleanse ourselves.
• This is where God stepped in and offered His grace in the form of Jesus Christ through His gospel.
• Jesus came and died for our sins, shedding his perfect blood.
• Everything we know about God we’ve had to learn.
• And little by little we learned how to trust him.
• Our baby faith needed to mature.
• And one of the best ways to grow our faith is through trials.
• James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”.
• Romans 3:3-5 “And not only this but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us”.
• So, the trials started coming.
• Consider David who one day fought Goliath the giant (1 Samuel 17).
• But remember that David didn’t start with Goliath.
• No. God showed David he would be there with him when he fought a lion and one day a bear.
• Then David’s faith grew till he could stand before the giant Philistine, confident that the same God who helped him fight the lion and the bear would be with him as he faced Goliath.

• Our Self Reliance Needs To Diminish
• Don’t we sometimes feel like “I am on top of the world”?
• How did we get here?
• Well nobody helped me, I got here myself.
• And when we fall, we’re told to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps”, “hang in there, baby”, “suck it up” “no pain-no gain”, “keep plugging away”, etc.
• In other words: Do it yourself.
• This may work in the physical world and our place in it, but in the spiritual realm it is different.
• What we need to do is remove ourselves from the equation and put God in His rightful place.
• We need to learn to be able to say as Paul did: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
• Since it is through Christ that we do our spiritual work, let us put Him first in all things.
• Colossians 1:18 “He is the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything”.
• Proverbs 3:5-7 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil”.
• You see, our own understanding gets us into trouble most of the time.
• We must recognize and acknowledge that God is greater than we are and He needs to be obeyed.
• Like John, we need to say to ourselves: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

• God Is Rooting For You
• We learn a lot about God in the scriptures.
• God is faithful as we read in 1 Corinthians 10:13.
• God is longsuffering toward us (2 Peter 3:15).
• He does not want us to fail (2 Peter 3:9).
• Remember that God gave us everything we need to be successful.
• 2 Peter 1:3 “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence”.
• Trials teach us God is faithful.
• No matter who knows and loves you, no one who loves you more than God does.
• His love is the greatest love there is.
• And even though you may have others in your life who will be there for you, God has promised He will never fail you.
• Hebrews 13:5 “Let your character be free from the love of money, being content for what you have; for He Himself has said “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you”.”
• He’s in it for the whole game.

• God Is To Receive The Glory
• Whether you’re aware of it or not, others watch you.
• And if you claim to be a Christ follower, they are watching you closely.
• There’s something different about those who know God personally.
• When we go through difficult things, God gives us the strength to do it.
• People notice that difference and it makes them wonder why.
• Sometimes they may even ask you why you are different.
• Jesus taught us to let our light shine so that others would glorify God (Matthew 5:16).
• Peter tells us “…so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen”
(1 Peter 4:11).
• Sure we are going to suffer, but notice 1 Peter 5:16: “but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God”.
• 1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body”.

• Conclusion
• When you are with someone who is struggling, be with them, but don’t tell them “God will never give them more than they can handle”.
• If it were true, we wouldn’t need God at all.
• And we do need God. Every single day.
• We need to remember God does not think like us.
• He tells us this in Isaiah 55:8-9.
• Now you know why you suffer through all those trials.
• Have you remained strong?

By Carey Scott based on an article by Anne Peterson

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