When life gets large, how do we walk the road with grace and wisdom, not getting anxious or stressed. Our goal is to work productively, yet not get so task-driven that relationships with those close to us suffer. We don’t want to get overwhelmed or just check out, since in faith we trust God has it all under control.

Recently I’ve been considering these issues, oftentimes while I’m intensely exercising to vent some of the stress that is building up. Dissertation proposal deadlines are looming, the family needs my attention and care, global trainings are coming fast and furious in a heavy travel season, my father is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s and may pass away while I’m in Africa, etc., etc.

Each of us have our threshold that we can bear, and according to 1 Corinthians 10:13, God is aware of our threshold and will not allow us to be “tempted beyond our ability.” It doesn’t say that He will remove the difficulties, for they force us to “cling to the Rock that is higher than I.” (Ps.61:2) But He will provide a way so that we can endure the challenges. “Enduring” does not mean getting stressed out, irritable, panicked, anxious, task-driven, checked-out. None of these are healthy responses to an “overflowing plate.”

Instead, when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, facing a plate that was fuller than you or I can imagine, he stops, withdraws, and shares with His Father (Matt.26:36ff). He shares intensely, passionately, is refreshed by God and angels, and then heads resolutely into the storm, filled with the grace and truth that characterized his life (John 1:14). May I likewise follow Jesus’ pattern of drawing near to God when life gets larger than I think I can handle. May I be nourished by Him. And then may I press on with grace and truth in the journey God has for me.