Made to Depend

Made to Depend

Too often we hear the words, “God will never give you something you can’t handle.” I have believed that to be true until this Relevant Magazine article shifted my perspective on the matter. Here’s an excerpt from the author, Michael Hidalgo:

When we become aware that life will give us more than we can handle and come to grips with this, we find a promise: God is faithful to meet us in the mess and in the pain.

And when He does, we learn to recognize our constant need to depend on Him. This is why Peter instructs the Church to cast our fears, worries, suffering and pain on God. He reasons we can do this because God cares for us. When life deals us more than we can handle, we can rest in the reality that God can handle it.

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What does it mean to lie down in green pastures?

What does it mean to lie down in green pastures?

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul… Psalm 23:1-3

I remember a friend of mine sharing with us, that when a shepherd makes a sheep “lie down in green pastures,” it means that when a sheep goes off wandering around, the shepherd breaks one of its legs so it lies down and stays still. If you think about it, a sheep won’t understand a shepherd if he just screams “Be still!” or “Stay calm!” He’d have to break its leg, and have it hurt, just so it does what is right. Otherwise, the sheep keeps wandering, and will forever get lost.

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