Prepare to be Stretched

None of us likes to be stretched – at least, not too much. We don’t mind a bit of physical, intellectual or emotional stretching, if I can call it that … but not to the point of discomfort. I guess that’s why most people, most of the time, go for the easy option.

I was reading an interesting article recently about cognitive decline. The learned professor was saying that around age sixty, people get a bit comfortable … they might avoid challenging and difficult things and start coasting on experience. That, she said, was the worst thing we can do.

Instead, she counselled that we focus on challenging activities that stretch us and grow our brains. Good advice – oh, and if you’re a tad younger than sixty, she also pointed out that our brains actually start shrinking in our thirties.

So, do you like being stretched in a way that challenges you, causes you discomfort even? Some athletes do, but most people don’t. That’s perhaps where the idea came from that, because He loves us, God won’t ever give us more than we can handle. We kind of equate His love with our comfort. But that, I think, is the worst thing we can do.

The Apostle Paul is without doubt one of the New Testament A-listers. He found himself with the proverbial thorn in his side. Here’s how that played itself out:

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 I begged the Lord three times to take this problem away from me. But the Lord said, “My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.”

It turns out that, out of His great love, God doesn’t give us what we can handle. He helps us handle what we’re given. Prepare to be stretched.

That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.