It was 5am and we were awakened by the annoying noise of our alarm. Today was our 1st full day in Maui, and we didn’t want to waste any time. We were going to be driving the Road to Hana.
The scenic Hana highway is a 64-mile-long stretch of twisting roads and tight turns on the northeast coastline in Maui. Because of the tight turns, my research said most tourists book a tour bus and let the professional’s drive.
We weren’t most people.
Instead, we downloaded the gypsy app guide, acting like a GPS and telling you places to stop along the highway.
With windows down, and sun shining, we were ready to go.
Once we navigated to where the road began, we quickly learned why people opt for the tour bus.
The road had 1 lane bridges and sharp turns where you couldn’t see if a car was coming from the other direction. As we crept up to the first bridge, I remembered hearing a few traffic rules:
– whoever gets to the bridge first has the right of way
– before you go around the turn, HONK so any oncoming traffic can hear you
– let the locals pass you
The honk was like a warning signal, “Hey, we are coming around the bend!”
I wish God would “honk” at me, sending a warning signal.
Like, HONK:
“Tomorrow your child is going to fall off the monkey bars.”
“If you go to Costco today you will get the flu.”
“In 1 hour, your grandma is going to have a heart attack, take her to the hospital.”
“Your husband is going to break your marriage vows tomorrow.”
“Don’t drive on that highway tomorrow, you will get in a car wreck.”
“If you buy that house, you won’t be able to afford it.”
Sometimes we are thrown more than we can handle. Wouldn’t life be easier with warning signals?
Has anyone ever said this to you? “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Even though people say it a lot, It’s nowhere in the Bible. Instead, it says:
God is faithful. He 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 stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
God showed us an example of how we should live on this earth through Jesus. Sometimes our bad decisions cause our own pain. But even then, God still provides a way out before you fall into sin.
What do you do when the pain is inflicted on you?
When God gives us more than we can handle, we HAND it over to him.
I know sometimes the weight of what we are feeling seems like there is no way out.
In the bible, WHILE Paul was persecuted and in PRISON he wrote:
Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us. 2 Corinthians 1:9-10.
I am encouraged by Paul.
Three things I know,
- God is a good Father.
- God meets you in your pain
- Your faith grows most through trials, building resilience
As much as we want a “HONK” from God before something bad happens, we would never grow, never rely on God, and never give up our control.
Are you in the middle of a “too much to handle season” shift your focus from how bad your situation is, to how BIG your God is.
I will be with him in trouble. Psalm 91:15
If you are wondering how we did on the Road to Hana – after a few minutes we became pros. In fact, the hardest part of the drive wasn’t even in Hana, it was on our way there because the GPS lead us to a road that looked like it hadn’t been driven on in years.
As much as we planned for our Maui trip, navigating this muddy (scary) road in a rental car was not one of them.
BUT WE STILL MADE IT THROUGH.
So even if you plan and listen for the HONK, life still throws you curveballs.
GOD IS BIGGER THAN OUR CURVEBALLS.
We serve a God who KNEW what he would have to endure through Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sinful ways. He could’ve stopped anytime, but he chose to save us then. And HE is saving you now.
