Struggles.
Challenges.
Trials.
Problems.
Adversities. 

Despite the name we place upon them, we have them.  God never promised in His Word that we wouldn’t (have struggles, challenges, trials, problems, and adversities), & God never promised in His Word that we would not have more than we could handle.  We will have more, (be given more) than we “think” we can handle.
More than….We Can Handle.
Three words that speak such falsehood—WE—CAN—HANDLE.
The Truth:  We Cannot Handle Very Much at all—APART, SEPARATE, or WITHOUT GOD’S HELP.
We may think we can (handle) all that comes our way, but God created us & He knows us & our strengths, & He knows our limitations. 
On Friday, I attended a faculty forum.  It was the workday before the first day of the Fall Semester & my birthday (the speed limit, or 2 nickels as I like to say).    Tomorrow, I am beginning something new, something challenging, something that could be a struggle, something that (truthfully) scares me because deep down I wonder, “Can I really do this, can I teach these new courses, can I meet these students’ needs, can I prepare them, can I coach them to get them ready? Can I?”

I cannot, but My God can & He can work through me, perfecting a good work in me, one that He began the moment of my salvation and one that He will complete when Christ Jesus comes for me.

You cannot, but God can & He will work through you, perfecting a good work in you, one that He began the moment of your salvation and one that He will complete when Christ Jesus comes for you.

At this same faculty forum on Friday, one of the presenters (someone I have known since I was a pre-teen) spoke of her daughter.  She told the story of one time, when her daughter was younger, when her daughter’s teacher asked her daughter the question:  What is one thing your mother taught you?
Her daughter said, “To always carry a picnic blanket and a kite in your car.”
The presenter said when she learned what her daughter had written, she was perplexed and even a little hurt that in all the things she “thought” she had taught her daughter, THESE words were what her daughter shared with her classmates and teacher, especially when the other classmates were sharing more meaningful lessons they had learned from their mothers.

Fast forward to ourselves.

What would someone say we have taught them by the actions and words and teachings from our lives?
Would we be a bit embarrassed, perplexed, confused, angered, and even hurt by their answers…..especially if they spoke the Truth?!!!
When I awoke this morning and opened my Bible to read, I was led to a passage, one that spoke of what our Heavenly Father is capable of Accomplishing—of Doing–of Creating–of Establishing—In Us.

• What lessons has our Heavenly Father taught us?
• What can our Father God do?
• Or an even more appropriate question—–What cannot our Father God do?!!!

God can do ANYTHING, & He can do ANYTHING through us!
God can accomplish ANYTHING, & He can accomplish ANYTHING through us.
God can create ANYTHING (and ALL THINGS), & He can create ANYTHING & ALL THINGS through us.

See the pattern?
We cannot do, Accomplish, or Create anything (with our lives) apart from Him because God is the Creator of ALL things, even our very existence. 
GOD, the CREATOR—-Can Do, Can Accomplish, and Can Create ANYTHING & ALL THINGS—WHATEVER through us, within us, and without us. Only God Can!!!

This morning I read from Philippians, a correspondence to those living in Philippi, a letter the Apostle Paul was inspired by God to write to these individuals living there.  He wrote these words of encouragement for them & for us. 

Struggles may walk into our homes.
Challenges may knock us down.
Trials may enter into our bodies.
Problems may come knocking day-after-day.
Adversities may batter us.

BUT—We should not become dismayed.

Our God who had the power to save our souls forevermore HAS US!!!
Our God began “a good work” in us and “will perfect it until” we are complete, “until the day of Christ Jesus,”—until Jesus comes to walk us home to heaven, until Jesus’ second coming for each one of us.
The only way to walk in this confidence is to Know God as Savior and Lord.

We Cannot Begin Any Other Way!!!!
What God begins, He Perfects!!!

It is a Truth—God never promised to give His children LESS than they could handle.
That would be like parents never giving their children a new task to learn, one that would grow their skillset, prepare them for adulthood, and bring them into maturity.
Our Father God works within His children (within us) perfecting and completing and preparing His (us) for eternity within His presence. 
We are not there yet—Complete—but we know God will complete a work within us as He perfects us for eternity.
So, just as the presenter’s daughter spoke of what her mother taught her, the “most important” lesson, let us begin carrying our “picnic blanket and kite in our cars,” as we leave our homes.
WHY?

• So, we are FLEXIBLE—for Wherever God may take us—
• So, we are FLEXIBLE to Do whatever God may lead us to do—
• So, we are FLEXIBLE to Accomplish whatever God’s will may be for this season of life.
• So, we are living—within God’s will—walking daily with Him—listening to His direction—speaking our cares to Him—and following Him, right where He desires us to be, ready and obediently following His will.

See you there….placing our kites and picnic baskets into the trunks of our cars….READY for wherever God may take us & READY for whatever God may lead us to do & READY for whatever God allows us to go through—–READY for Our Whatever.