When God gives you more than you can handle (1 Sam 30)

As believers we are often told that God will not give us more than we can handle. Pastor Steve Mathewson suggests from his understanding of Scripture in conjunction with an array of pastoral experience that not only does God give us situations we cannot handle, but he does so to teach us how to live as a people who depend on him. David’s experience in 1 Samuel 30 provides readers of Scripture with an example of what happens when someone indeed experiences an overwhelming set of circumstances. When David reaches a breaking point, his response is to go to the Lord for help and guidance. He gives us more than we can handle for a purpose. As we depend on him in these situations we, like David, gradually learn to be gracious people. That is, when we Christians depend on God, He shows us his grace and transforms us into gracious people, a quality we all need, but especially as we move into pastoral ministry.

Biography

Steve Mathewson is the Senior Pastor of Crosslife Evangelical Free Church (Libertyville, IL). He is widely published in preaching, including The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative. Steve received a Masters of Arts Degree in Old Testament in 1986 from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary (Portland, OR) and his Doctor of Ministry in 2000 from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he studied preaching under Dr. Haddon Robinson. He and his wife, Priscilla, have four children.