His Encouragement #65
Thursday Encouragement

His Encouragement #65

Nicole Santana

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Good morning, and welcome to His Encouragement Thursday! I don’t know about you, but Thursdays are my struggle day of the week. By Thursday, I have already been working hard at school and at home, and I just wish it would hurry up and be Friday already. LOL! I definitely need a little extra Jesus time on Thursdays.

Trisha, my blogger friend at Joy of Reading, and I decided on calling this post “His Encouragement” because our real source of peace, strength, and security can only come from Jesus Christ. He, and He alone, is our constant! We pray and hope that these Thursday posts become a real encouragement to you and help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you. God bless!

Today’s Thursday Encouragement comes from:

Isaiah 40:29 (ESV)

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.

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If one more person tells me that God doesn’t give anymore than what we can handle, I may scream. Currently, I feel like God has given me way more than I can handle. Today I feel useless and helpless and powerless and small, and this makes me angry. Today I am hurt in a way I’ve not hurt before. Today I want to yell at God to STOP allowing so much pain.

One week ago, my dad was killed in a car accident. He was months away from retirement. He and my mom had so many fun plans, and I was so excited for their new chapter in life. My mom and dad are BEST friends, so I knew that my dad’s retirement was going to be a blast for them. But in one second last Wednesday, a driver made a choice to drive how he wanted — not paying attention to anyone else on the freeway — and killed my dad.

My dad is gone. My mom’s best friend is gone. My brothers and sister have lost their father. My daughter, nieces, and nephews have lost their grandpa. In the blink of an eye, my family’s lives have been irrevocably changed whether we like it or not. We don’t get a say, we don’t get a vote, we don’t even get to confront the man who took our dad’s life. We just have to keep on keeping on, but now without my dad. I’m sorry, but sitting here typing this post today I can’t help but feel like this is too much. The pain, grief, shock, and anger are too much.

I didn’t know what verse to use in today’s post. But my brother has been going on and on about God not giving us more than we can handle. So, I looked up that phrase. Is it anywhere in the Bible? The answer is, “NO!” Nowhere in the Bible does it say God doesn’t give more than we can handle where grief and pain are concerned. It does say that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle, and in that temptation He gives us a way out, which is going to Him. But there is NO single moment in the Bible where God says He will not give us more than we can handle. So then I started to panic. What do I do in immense grief? How do I tame the fear? I know I can lean on God. That’s a given. But how do I make it through something so hard I feel I will never recover?

God is cool. In the midst of freaking out, He led me to a random article that had Isaiah 40:29 referenced. So I looked up the verse in my Bible and almost burst into tears.

My dad is a highly respected Fire Captain. Tuesday was my dad’s procession. This means that the firemen drove me and my family down to the morgue. We picked up my dad’s broken body and drove it to the crematorium. It is the final good-bye time. It’s an honor because firemen from all over Southern California who worked with my dad in some way came to stand guard as we took the body from one location to the next. It was incredibly overwhelming and highly emotional. It hurt SO badly. I felt sick to my stomach. My mom was barely able to stand. My brothers and sister and uncle and aunt broke down. And all of our children — my daughter, nieces, and nephew — broke into horrific sobs. It was a bad day. We all felt faint. BUT GOD. My family believes in God hard just like my dad did. I truly believe that God was with us Tuesday holding us up. I think God increased our strength so we could get through the day together. Once we got home, we all fell down in exhaustion. But I think God supernaturally held us so we could honor my father. God did exactly what He says He will in Isaiah 40:29 — He gave power to us who were faint and He increased our strength even if it was just for a short time. God did what He said He would do.

I don’t have a profound, happy way to end today’s post. I am hurting more than I’ve ever hurt before. But I know God is here. God will help me get through each day. God will help my precious mother each day. God will help my brothers, sister, aunt, uncle, daughter, nieces, and nephews each day. And, if you are hurting today, know that God will help you each day, too.

NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!

WHAT BIBLICAL VERSE IS ENCOURAGING YOU TODAY?

Check out more Thursday Encouragement from my fellow blogger friends:

Trisha @ Joy of Reading

Jacquelyn @ A Heavenly Home

Jessica @ A Baker’s Perspective

Becca @ The Becca Files

Jenny @ Author Jenny Lynn

Gina @ Stories by Gina

Rebecca @ Rev. Rebecca Writes

If you would like to join us: please contact Trisha or Nicole

Published by Nicole Santana

I love Jesus, my husband, and my daughter. I love reading and reviewing Christian and Clean fiction. And, I am a high school English teacher trying to get kids to fall in love with reading every day!

15 thoughts on “His Encouragement #65”

  1. There are no words, but know that I lift you and your family up in prayer – not only today bur in the days to come.

    Both my parents have went to their heavenly home – one suddenly and unexpected and the other from Alzheimer slowly dying a little at a time before our eyes. However, I do have some idea of your feelings. Don’t like it when someone says “I know how you feel” because each of us are individuals and we feel and handle things differently. You may think you know how they feel – but you never really know. Our daughter, our only child, was killed in a car accident taken from us suddenly through the actions of another just as your dad was.

    Thankful for my faith because I don’t know how one could go through the heartache and pain without knowledge of heaven and our Father’s amazing grace. Folks will say “today will be better” when I as trying to manage the next breathe.

    At first you will think of the things you are missing – this years birthday, anniversary, Christmas – the whole year of “firsts”. You wonder who others can go on like nothing has happened. During this time please don’t let anyone tell you how you “should” act. Grief is personal and there is no right or wrong way. We struggle through as best we can but lean on those that you love as they lean on you. God will hold you up! Eventually, you the pain will subside. I’m not saying it ever leaves completely because it won’t. However, you will start to replace the horrible memories and heartaches with the joy of your memories thinking more about what your Dad meant to you, the funny things he said or the things he loved to do.

    The one lesson I learned when Jenet was taken from us was that you aren’t guaranteed tomorrow or even the next hour. I get comfort in the fact that the last thing I said to Jenet was to tell you that I loved her. From the way you talk about you Dad and your family, I know you were loved and I can feel how much you loved your Dad. Please take a little comfort in knowing he knew you loved him just as you know he loved you. It may be a small thing, but sometimes it’s the small things that keep us putting one foot in front of the other.

    May God bless you with peace and his love as you go through this very difficult time. I know it can be hard to think ahead, but thank God we will be with our loved ones again in a much better place.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. Kay, thank you so much for sharing all of this. The one thing that keeps me from freaking out is Jesus. I know that my dad lives Jesus so much, so I know he went to Jesus immediately. I know that one day my mom will be reunited with my dad in Heaven. That we all will one day. It’s been my comfort to know these things. I’m very, very sorry for all of your losses. I understand completely trying to take a breath. I feel like I can’t some moments. If good sleep would come, I think I could start to breathe better. But, you’re right … my dad loved me and I love him. There’s no doubt in that. It, too, helps me keep on keeping on. Thank you, Kay!

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  2. My dear friend my heart is breaking for you right now. You’ve been heavy on my mind the past couple days. I wish there were more I could do for you. I’m sorry I can’t be a physical help to you but I’m praying for you and here if you need someone to talk to.

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  3. So sorry for you and your family dear Nicole. Praying God will wrap you in His arms and see you through! Blessings, as always!

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  4. Oh my sweet friend, I am praying for you and your family. I cannot even fathom what you are going through.

    I have to admit that I am one of those people who states “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle” all the time. I think I probably say it to myself the most to give myself some encouragement. And while it is not stated clearly in the bible, I kind of back it on this “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13). With God’s help, and sometimes God’s help alone, we truly can get through anything. It’s not going to be easy and it’s going to take a lot of time, but perhaps this event will bring your family closer together and closer to the Lord. I’m so happy to hear that your father put his trust in Jesus. I rejoice in knowing that he is with Jesus right now!

    I wish I was closer so I could give you a hug. May God wrap his comforting arms around you and your family, and give you all the strength to move forward, day by day. Everyone grieves differently, and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Just remember all the lessons he taught you, all the laughs you shared, and all the sweet memories that you can keep inside of your heart. Keep your heart close to the Lord, and share all your hurts with Him. He wants to help you through this.

    Love you my friend! Hugs and prayers 🙂

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    1. Thank you for sharing Philippians 4:13 with me. It is a great point that you make that I will keep close to me in this time. Thank you for your prayers. They are greatly needed. Wish we lived closer too. A hug would be nice today. ❤

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  5. My dear blogging friend, I am so sorry to hear about your loss! How tragic! I just don’t know what to say as my heart breaks for you and your family. Please know I am praying for you and your family ❤

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  7. Sorry that I am posting late. It it definitely not Thursday, but I can imagine you are still raw in your grief. Thank you for posting about how much pain you are in. Christians should not have to sugarcoat when they are falling apart and overwhelmed. If King David can cry from a cave, if the children of God can lament as they are being carted away into exile by the Babylonians, then surely God has made space for us to scream, cry, and throw ourselves at His feet. In fact, handing Him every last scrap of your pain is the most faithful thing you can do. He wants it all.

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