Daily Devotional | The Lord Will Redeem

I’ve often heard people say that the Lord will never give you anything more than you can handle. While that may be well-intended, it is not true. This idea seems to come from Paul’s statement about temptation: God “will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). But this passage doesn’t apply to all situations—only temptations to sin. In fact, I think God does give us more than we can handle so that our only option is to look to Him. Today’s passage describes one of those situations.

Micah continues the themes of God’s sovereignty and care for His people. Here God tells His people to go into exile. They would be given an impossible situation in which He would be their only hope. There, says the Lord, they will see His redemption. Though “many nations are gathered against you” (4:11), God would rescue them and redeem them “out of the hand of [their] enemies” (v. 10).

It’s crucial to remember the timeline thus far. Micah had called Israel’s religious and political leaders to repentance and announced the impending judgment for their sins. Then God told them that He would comfort them after their discipline and took responsibility for the suffering they would endure. Now He is telling them that they must go into exile, where He will be with them and rescue them. This entire process of rebuke, discipline, and coming hope was under God’s loving care and it was intended to restore His people’s relationship with Him. God is imminently concerned that His people know and love Him, and He will go to great lengths to bring them into right relationship with Him.

>> Has God ever led you into what seems like an impossible situation? How were you able to trust Him in the midst of it? And (if it is now over) how did He rescue and redeem you from it?

Pray with Us

Lord, we are frequently mystified by Your ways. In discomfort, confusion, or misery, we forget that You are sovereign and know all. Teach us to abide in You, to recognize Your work in each circumstance.

BY Russell L. Meek

Russell Meek teaches Old Testament and hermeneutics at Moody Theological Seminary. He is a columnist for Fathom magazine and writes widely for lay and academic audiences about all things Old Testament and its relationship to the Christian life. Russell, his wife, and their three sons live in north Idaho, where you’ll find them gardening, cooking, and exploring the wild.