There are certain things that we look at that we see as innately strong, invincible even. Whether it’s because of the materials that have been used to construct it or the longevity of the materials. Things like the Titanic that was called unsinkable when it was created. After all, it was made with the latest technology and the best materials, carefully and intelligently crafted. Many of our monumental buildings are also seen as strong and almost indestructible. After all, the engineers plan for all the different catastrophes that could confront the building so there are little to no weaknesses. If they plan for it, then it should be able to survive right? In this we put our faith and our trust. Yet we’ve seen time and again with things such as the Titanic disaster and even on 9/11 when the World Trade Center fell, that although we might see certain material things as indestructible or as able to face all kinds of catastrophe and survive –  we can be entirely wrong in our assumption.

The lesson we can learn from this misconception is that faith can be misplaced with devasting outcomes.  You see, people are no different than these buildings, these carefully crafted vessels, that we see as unsinkable or unbreakable. There are certain people we see as amazingly strong and invincible. We place our faith in these people and at times will inevitably find ourselves disappointed.  What we don’t know about the great people in our lives is the right set of circumstances that can bring that person down. We don’t see the weak points or areas of vulnerability in them, but they are there.  The truth is, they are in all of us. We are all destructible, we are all flawed in some way.  Faith should not be placed in people because people fail. 

Today I put forward the idea that inside of all of man and everything we make there is weakness and vulnerability. That is what it means to be human, or man-made. I know this doesn’t seem fair or right because we were created this way. If we are flawed it is not our fault. Why couldn’t God have just made us perfect? Indestructible?  Oh, wait he did, but we corrupted ourselves.

Therein lies the issue, the weakness in man to seek his own way, to tend to selfishness and destructiveness. We have limitations to our strength and abilities.  Limitations to the amount that we can handle challenge wise in our own strength.

The Titanic had limitations too.  If the iceberg had been a little smaller, if they had turned more quickly, and if the iceberg had only connected with the ship on one panel maybe the Titanic would have made it, or they would have had more time for all the passengers to disembark safely. Instead, the iceberg that they struck exposed a limitation in the engineering. A vulnerability that existed because the design had not anticipated the weakness or planned for the specific set of circumstances that caused Titanic’s ultimate failure. This was no different than the situation with the collapse of the Twin Towers because it had survived bombings before when other bombs had been used to try to destroy them. However there was a limitation to the strength in the materials. With the right set of circumstances(the events of 9/11), the structural integrity failed. It was a catastrophic failure. Limitations whether known or unknown and whether the first time or subsequent times being brought against something can cause failure on small and sometimes on catastrophe levels. The idea of limitations affecting things we make has truth that applies to us as people. There is  no difference for us, limitations affect us also. 

Sometimes our limitations can cause catastrophic failure in our lives. Our limitations can present us with challenges, not all of them are ones we can conquer on our own. We’ve seen it before thanks to social media. It’s easy to find stories on how people have fallen from glory. I don’t know if we want to watch it because just like the people who stood there on that day of the terrorist attack, and they just stared at the flames coming out of the buildings in shock. They couldn’t help but watch it in disbelief even as the towers began to fall.  They were trapped by a morbid curiosity they could not escape. It’s a “you can’t believe what you see” moment so you just keep watching. Those are the moments that exposed failures, limitations, and weaknesses become apparent as we see the fallout. This can happen to people’s lives as well.  We watch as people unravel and I’m sad to say, even judge them for it many times.  

It is important to note that not everybody’s destruction is obvious. For some it can go rather quickly and privately. But either way humankind has a breaking point. Every one of us has that point at which once we’ve reached the limit of what we can handle or accomplish in our strength, we can go no further. We are not different than all the things we have made, we are both limited and fallible. 

What good is it to recognize that we have these limitations? Why does it matter? Well, I think it shows us a point of our need. You see one of the phrases that I can’t stand that people like to say comes from the Bible, but it doesn’t is “that God won’t give you more than you can handle.” It is not scriptural, and I don’t believe it’s true because I’ve seen time and again very godly people face and encounter things that are more than they could handle in their own strength. It is beyond their capacity if they have to endure it alone. The correct phrase should be “God won’t give you more than you can handle in his strength and power. “ God doesn’t ask you to face or handle the challenges and the pain that can come in your life in your own power and in your own strength. With him, his support, and his strength you can face life no matter what it brings. No matter your own personal limitations. You can’t stay standing when you stand alone.  As a believer it’s easy to get misplaced pride in yourself for being strong enough when the truth is, if it was not for the grace and the strength of God, you would not be standing. It was through his power that you were transformed, and it is through his strength and grace that you are sustained. It is not your own effort; it is all thanks to him.

It all comes down to a matter of faith.  We put our faith and our trust not in our own strength or infalliablity, instead we trust in God.  In God in us, the hope of glory.  That we were not made to stand in our own strength or power, if that were the case, we would get the glory.  Instead, God gets the glory because it is he who sustains and preserves all who put their hope in him.  Trust the true “might one”, the one that never fails, has never failed, and will never fail.  When we put our trust in him, we will not be disappointed.