God doesn't give the hardest battles to his toughest soldiers, he creates the toughest soldiers through life's hardest battles.

This past week I have been studying about the call of Mary.  She was chosen to be the mother of Jesus.  I had often thought about the difficulty of saying yes to God, that she would become pregnant and the consequences that would have presented for a young woman in her day in her situation.  I however, had never thought about how much God was asking of Mary in giving her a son who would be hated, mocked, and crucified.  One of the hardest tragedies I cannot fathom is the loss of a child.  God knew when he asked Mary to be the mother of his son that he was asking her to raise a child who would be crucified as a sacrifice for her and every other human being. 

As I pondered this realization I was reminded of the Mother Theresa quote “I know God will never give me more than I can handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much.”  This is something I have heard repeated over and over again, as advice, as an encouragement.  I thought, wow, God expected Mary to be able to handle a lot.  I thought Mother Theresa’s quote was a paraphrase of a verse in the Bible, that somewhere God promised to never give us more than we could handle, but as I started researching that, I realized that isn’t true.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say God will not give US more than we can handle.  In fact, the opposite is true, we are constantly faced with more than we can handle.  If we never came up against more than we could handle then there would be no need for God.  What scripture does say is that “(we) can do all things through Christ who gives (us) strength.” –Philippians 4:13

It kind of goes hand in hand with the saying “God gives his hardest battles to his toughest soldiers.”  Now, I realize that people say this to encourage those going through a hard time, but it isn’t true. He didn’t create me in my mother’s womb and say, “this one here, she is resilient, she is strong, she can handle Cystic Fibrosis.”  No, he saw me as his child, his creation, he knows every mutated gene in my body and he said, “child, you will see some dark days, days you won’t think you will make it through, but take heart because I have already won the battle!  I will never leave you on the battlefield, I will send my angels to encamp around you, and on the darkest nights, I promise to bring you back to the light.  I know you are weak.  I know you are wounded, but I promise that in me you will find the strength to fight. We will get through this together.” 

There is a misconception that ones struggle is greater than another’s, but I don’t think God measures our struggles, just like he doesn’t measure our sin.  Murder and dishonoring your father are equal in God’s eyes.  Sin is sin.  In the same way our sin is seen, I believe our struggles are.  A struggle is a struggle. People often disregard their struggle when they are talking to me and say, “I shouldn’t complain, it is nothing compared to what you go through.”  You are right, our struggles are not the same, but my struggle does not negate yours.  God doesn’t look at his children and say, Krissy deserves more compassion because she is battling cancer and Joan only has pneumonia.  In the way that God doesn’t judge our struggle, we shouldn’t judge one another’s struggle.  I know that we are all given more than we can handle at times.  God is always upholding us, giving us victory in our challenges.  He is extending compassion, his tears are flowing into ours, and his arms are the fortress in which we are secure.  Often God extends his compassion and love through his people, we are the extension of Christ and so that means that we are the providers of compassion and love, grace and encouragement.  So in the way that Christ sees your struggle, I do not negate it, I am not measuring it against my own, I am here to empathize and encourage.  Perhaps you are one who has said to me that your struggle is nothing compared to mine, maybe you are someone who has felt guilty for sharing your hardship with me, then this post is for you.  I am not gauging your struggle, what I see is a battle that you are facing, something that is difficult for you to fight through, and I am here for you.  I want to pray for you, I want to encourage you, and I want you to know that your struggle matters.  It matters to me and it matters to God.  In the same way God has called out to me, shown me compassion, and given me the strength to fight, he wants to do the same for you.  He knows the battle you are facing, he knows the defeat that you feel, but he is with you and with him you can find victory.  He is saying to you, “I know this is more than you can handle.  I am not asking you to overcome it on your own.  I have never asked you to be strong enough.  What I want is for you to come to me.  Give me your battle and I will give you the strength and victory.”