Small Bites

At my eighth-grade band banquet, one of my best friends handed me a cupcake. I started to take a bite, but he stopped me. "No," he said. "You're a saxophone player! You eat cupcakes IN ONE BITE!" So, like any fourteen-year-old boy would do, I promptly shoved an entire chocolate cupcake in my mouth. While I was successful at eventually choking it down, this remain my personal go-to experience with a time-honored adage: don't bite off more than you can chew.

Usually we take it a bit less literally than calling a cupcake bite-sized. We know we shouldn't try to take on more than we can handle in life, whether that's at work or at home. Don't make promises to your kids or your spouse you can't keep, and don't let your boss overwhelm you. We are mortal, and we have limits. We simply can't do as much as we try to at times. And when we try anyway, we generally fail in a pretty spectacular fashion.

If you're like me, this may seem like weakness to you. The inability to do everything regardless of personal limitations sounds, well, limiting, but that's a good thing. I quote this verse a lot, but I'll do it again: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). God made us with the ability to do some things and the inability to do others. He gave us foresight and planning skills to get things done. But He also tells us when we fail, He's there to catch us. When we are weak, He is strong. He is sufficient and makes up for all our deficits. He alone is perfect.

You may be able to eat an elephant one bite at a time, but please take small bites. Don't bite off more than you can chew and end up hurting yourself in the process. If you do crash and burn, however, remember the loving, perfect God we worship will be there with you. His strength is always enough.