Grace

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
John 6:28-29

Sounds simple and easy enough, especially for Christians, doesn’t it?
Speaking for myself, there are days when the obstacles I have to surmount, and the formidable opposition I have to face, make me wonder whether my prayers will ever be answered.
I imagine I’m not the only one to have these very human moments of doubt and questioning.
My travails in trying to maintain a semblance of a relationship with my sons after their mother took them to Argentina on a short-term trip that turned permanent four years ago has often and painfully put my faith to the test.

In supporting me, my mother has frequently told me that God does not give us more than we can handle. Many times I have reacted to that statement by thinking that God must think I’m stronger than I am because there have been times when I just could not believe the unfairness of this situation.
I also wondered where it makes this statement in the Bible and I’ve come to 1 Corinthian 10:13 which states:

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Sometimes, the challenges life throws at us are simply too much to bare.
What I have been learning in these past four years is that doing God’s work at times when it would be easy to despair is to turn to Jesus Christ for help in overcoming what appears to be the virtually insurmountable.
In this sense, God probably gives us much more than we can handle throughout our lifetimes in the hope we call on Him to give us His grace to get through it.