Good morning everyone,

Luke 12:48
Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

It can be a very difficult journey in life without God of course. But it can also be a very heavy and burdensome life with God if we ever think we have what it takes to face more blessings of responsibilty and challenges that are coming in the future for our lives. Usually people are honest enough with themselves that they know that they cannot take anymore responsibility or they will break. So wisely we limit our activity elsewhere and do our best to keep the responsibilities in life manageable. Yet I have talked to people who have eliminated the most crucial part in their lives, and that is their devotion to God.

The reason I believe people say things such as "I’m taking a break from church" or "I’ve been too busy to have quiet time" is because we do not see where our strength to manage anything, past, present or future comes from. God blesses His children with spiritual and temporal/material blessings, yet blessings come with great strain and responsibility (jobs, marriage, kids, ministry, etc!). However if we look at how we are going to manage without looking at Who gives power/grace to manage, then we will "wilt" before we even get to the new challege God wants to bless us with!

God blesses us, but many times those blessings become burdens to us. Our negative attitude toward what God has blessed us with
comes by supposing that we can manage such a blessing without seeking Him more diligently than ever. So when God gives, He requires, and He requires us to seek Him for more grace to manage what He continually blesses us with. This is why we complain so much in a country like our own where we have everything we need and then some. Because when we try and manage blessings without a real intimate relationship with Jesus, we even see our blessing as curses. Test yourself, and seek whether you seek God’s grace to do your job, love your spouse, sacrifice time for your kids, fulfill your ministry? Whatever it is, it is impossible to think we can maintain all the blessings as well as tough times in our own strength. Without actively pursuing God for "grace to help in a time of need" we will prove that we can only handle God’s blessings with God’s strength.

In His Love, Ld