A few days ago, we wrapped up a church retreat in the mountains of the neighboring state. My husband got behind the wheel as usual so we could wind our way down the mountain and drive another four hours back home.

But almost as soon as we buckled ourselves in, he got the worst migraine ever. His head started to pound. He felt nauseous. He could barely open his eyes. Let’s just say that doesn’t make for the ideal set of circumstances to drive down a 5000-foot mountain.

And so the “understudy” (that would be me) was suddenly roped in to be the main actor in this little drama. But here’s something you should know about me: driving is not my thing. Which is a cool way of saying, driving gives me highly unattractive armpit sweat circles.

With my heart in my mouth, I slowly drove down 20 tight hairpin bends till we got to level land. Imagine James Bond zipping down narrow, windy mountain roads in his Aston Martin. Now think the polar opposite. That was me. And as we left the mountain behind, up ahead was the seemingly endless highway. Here’s the thing: there’s really no possibility of hitting “avoid highways” on your GPS when you’re driving between states. So while the husband dealt with that killer migraine and the kids dozed in the backseat, I prayed many “Help me, Lord’s!” and stepped on it.

Three hours later, we stopped for a break, the husband felt better, and he took over the last leg of our journey. And I couldn’t help but grin: Yes, we made it down that mountain!

All this may sound rather silly to you. If you love driving, you may dismiss this as “drama” (Although I would suggest first driving on a highway in India before making any declarations). But my story serves as an illustration because we all face metaphorical mountains. We’re plopped into situations where we can’t “avoid highways.” We all feel overwhelmed and unprepared as unplanned challenges spring out of nowhere.

Just this morning, I was typing out a message to a friend assuring him we would pray for his mom who is going through chemo for Stage 4 cancer when at that exact moment another friend messaged that her mom has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time.

Sometimes, it all feels like too much. And it is.

I don’t know where we got this idea that God won’t give us more than we can handle. Because He does.

But when He does, He also gives us His strength and grace to get through those overwhelming, can’t-do-this situations.

In the Bible, the apostle Paul faced overwhelming situations, far beyond his personal ability to deal with. So he didn’t look within himself to plow through his trials because they were, in fact, more than he could handle.

He says that they were “utterly weighed down, beyond [their] strength, so that [they] despaired even of life.” But then he goes on to declare that those troubles took place “so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1: 8-9). I like how the ESV says, “so that we would not rely on ourselves but on God.”

Friend, I don’t know what kind of mountains you face today or what kind of crazy highway you may be navigating. But maybe God allows those situations in our lives so we learn to rely on Him. In leaning on Him we receive the hope and strength to put one foot in front of another to keep walking. In I-can’t-do-this situations, God says to you, “You can’t. But you don’t have to do it alone.”

The mountain you are facing may be imposing. But as you face that mountain, you don’t stand alone. God stands with you. Call out to Him when you’re utterly weighed down, when you’re pushed beyond your strength. Put your foot to that pedal and keep going because He is enough even when you’re not and you can rely on His strength to navigate the steep and bumpy terrain ahead of you.

 

---

If what you read resonated with you, SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter for FREE so you get my posts in your inbox. Or you can follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts for content that won’t blow your mind but will still be super encouraging. Spread the love by hitting those unobtrusive “Share” buttons below. Thanks a whole bunch!