The Breaking Point

Devotional for Tuesday, 6/18/13
 

While working in an engineering department library I learned a fascinating term that has helped me recognize when I am allowing myself to be stretched too thin. It is called ultimate tensile strength.

 Tensile strength refers to the amount of stretching or pulling a material can take before breaking or failing. This useful information, how far can something be stressed, helps engineers to know both the amount of strength and the limit of that strength. God quickly showed me that each of us has tensile strength, and learning to recognize and understand it in ourselves and others can help us stay within our limits.  

I have said, and heard others say, that we are being “pulled tighter than a drum”, “stretched to the limit”, “carrying too heavy a load”, or “over-extended.” The strain most common to many of us is too little time and too much workload. The stress piles up as we deal with children, husbands, coworkers, financial difficulties, health issues, and a hectic life as we try to do and be there for everyone. The resulting fear, anxiety, misunderstandings, demands, and expectations weigh us down and bring us closer to our breaking point.   

One thing I realized I don’t have time for is – me.  Lord, I am desperate for more time and less workload!  I’m afraid the stress will prove to be my breaking point, instead of proving my ability to withstand the test. 

God could have created the universe in a blink of an eye, or whatever time frame He wanted, but He created things one day at a time. Even in His process of creating the earth for us He was setting an example of how we should live.  We are to do a day’s work, no more and no less. Then we should rest.

That seems to be the hardest part of resting in Him: is waiting for Him to act. But we can resist overloading our souls with stress by trying to figure out how to make things happen. We can speak words of thanksgiving, hope, and courage. We can choose to trust that He has given us the strength we need for each day (see Deuteronomy 33:25).  This process is hard work - but oh the result!

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2 NIV

 

No test or temptation that comes your way

 is beyond the course of what others have had to face.

All you need to remember is that God will never let you down;

 he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit;

he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

 1 Corinthians 10:13 MSG

 

Written by Sandy Schott