Have you ever had one of those days when your mind races to those familiar thoughts of , "Not again! I can't believe this is happening!" You know, one of those days when you would like to get back in bed, pull the covers over your head and hide.
Yep, I've had many days, many seasons, where these thoughts have crossed my mind.
Here's the thing.....
We have two choices when we feel that way....
1. We can completely trust in God and His goodness, knowing that He is faithful.
When the storms of life batter our weary souls time and time again, it's easy to give up. It's very easy to feel like we have been forsaken. However God's word states otherwise. In Hebrews 10:23 it states, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
Even if we can't feel He's presence, no matter if we call on His name and we can't hear His voice, His word promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Through the darkest of nights, He is there.
God commands us to not be afraid, or discouraged, but to be strong and courageous and trust in Him.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
~Joshua 1:9
When these times arrive, the key to overcoming them is to have our focus intentionally set on God. We need to get our focus off the problem and onto Him. When our focus remains on the problem, that's when the worry and self doubt kicks in. When it remains on Christ, that's when His peace sets in.
Our minds are incapable of thinking of two things at the same time. So, when life becomes overwhelming, fix your eyes on the Savior. Take it a day at a time, an hour at a time, or even a moment at a time, as you call on His name.
Pray to Him, surrender to Him, give all the worry and strife over to Him. Once you've given it to Him, don't take it back. Keep your eyes on Him instead.
2. Choose self, and let Satan win.
If we walk down the road of self glorification, and the "Oh poor me mentality." Guess what? Satan wins. When you choose to put all the attention on yourself and your problems, when you choose to not move forward in Christ because your fear has you set in bondage, you are wasting Christ's time and Satan has you right where He wants you.
He has you looking away from your Savior and forgetting how vital your communion with Him is. Even when the unfair circumstances happen, God still wants us to worship Him while we wait.
We are called by God to worship Him, follow Him, obey Him, and serve Him, no matter how hard life gets.
He wants us to deepen our trust in Him, He wants us to remember that He is faithful and will provide our every need. He wants us to learn from the times we walk through the valleys. However what we learn, is all dependent upon us. Here are some wise words from my son that perfectly describes this experience.
"I've been thinking about something lately. God never allows us to experience things with the goal of testing us in mind. He does however, allow things to happen to us withe the purpose of teaching us in mind. Whether of not we learn from these experiences is up to is."
During the storms of life, purposefully choose to put your faith and trust in the Savior. Take your eyes off the problem and put them on Christ instead. Allow Him to teach you. Be open to the lessons He has in store for you, life lessons that will mature you and make you more into His image.
While these things are happening, make sure you move straight ahead with the plans He has for your life. Don't give the enemy the victory, worship God while your waiting. Carry on with Him at the center, giving Him the glory and praise that He is due.
"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
Please take a moment to listen to this praise and worship song from the movie "Fireproof," called, "I'll Worship While I'm Waiting."
Do you have any praise and worship songs that help you keep your eyes fixed on Christ? Do you have favorite Bible verses that give you courage and hope as you wait?
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Many Blessings-
While I'm Waiting is one of my favorite songs! It reminds me to worship Him even in those times of waiting on His answers.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. It isn't always easy but God commands us, as you mentioned, to not worry and not be discouraged but to trust.
That's one of my favorite songs as well! It really ministered to me in 2009 when my youngest son was born. He started having seizures and then they discovered that he had a damaged spot on his brain. At the time they had no idea how it would affect him in his life and what his limitations would be, so it was just a waiting game. (Today he's a perfectly healthy and well-abled almost-4-year-old.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this new link up :)
So where I've been this week...God has helped me to focus on Him even in the midst of very unwelcome circumstances...and it has made all the difference. He has shown Himself faithful and He has gotten the glory through it all. Thank you for this reminder!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful encouraging post. You ministered to me today, my friend!
ReplyDeleteYour son's quote reminded me of what my son said yesterday on facebook: "Father God, may I never become complacent and stagnant in my life. I pray that I will always have obstacles and trials. Through this I can truly appreciate what you have done for me, and am reminded that I cannot do this alone. Give me challenges, as well as goals and dreams, so I can only grow stronger! We all have trials, so why not pray that they are blessings."
We are going to go thought difficulties anyway, so we might as well go through them with Jesus at our side and learn from them and grow from them rather than go through kicking and screaming, lol!
I linked up today for the first time. Thanks for hosting! ;)
I think we all have these days quite often! I have Fm/CFS and I was telling my husband a few days ago that every morning when I wake up, I really don't want to face the new day! BUT ..... I spend my first moments, and quite a few of them during the day, just resting in our Lord, talking to Him, listening to Him and allowing Him to fill my heart with hope and courage!
ReplyDeleteMuch love
Mia