It's Never Supposed To Be About You!

Some days you wake up and wonder if everyday is a Monday. Certainly it feels like the weeks contain more weekdays with Monday's in them than what really happens. We could all use more weekdays and definitely a whole lot more Fridays in our weeks.

Yet I was watching the way certain people seem to handle every day stress much more easily than others. When the storms of life wash over us like a rogue wave out of no where, why do some handle it better than others. Why is it there are certainly more occassions  for us to repeat our mistakes than learn from them and move on.

Why is it that bad things continue to happen despite all our efforts to make sure they don't follow? Why does it seem like God is simply busy when we call upon His name?

First of all, there is a difference in how people hand adversity and stress as believers in Jesus and those that don't. I can't imagine all the circumstances I've had to deal with in 50 years on this earth without my faith in God. I'm not talking about those times, when all else fails and I pray. That is not the kind of relationship I have as a Christian. I have a relationship not just some belief in Jesus. I know in spite of some of the most challenging times, God is right beside me every single step of the way.

When my husband and I talk about the differences between how believers handle things like death versus the unbeliever, it is clear. Sure we have similarities when dealing with the initial loss. I can't imagine how hard it is for parents to lose a child, or loved ones to lose a family member. Despite often times, faithful prayers and the right relationship with Jesus, loss still comes. But for the believer, we never have to say goodbye to another believer. We KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt, we WILL see them again and when that time comes we will never again be separated from them.

So why does bad things happen even for believers? I believe it isn't about us, it's about God. We are told numerous times in the Bible we are the salt and the light as believers. Often times, I believe like Gideon in Judges 6 - Judges 8, from the Bible who faced an army greater than he could possibly defeat, that God was waiting to show Gideon that it wasn't about what he could do, but about knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that God would bring them through their storm.

Too often I think we keep praying to God about what we want to see happen. Restoration for lost souls, healing for our loved ones trapped in the bonds of illness or death's doorstep, even help just to hold on when it is so much easier to simply let go. But through it all, God does a mighty work. Just like Jesus told his disciples that he would meet them on the other side of the Sea they were crossing, they seem to have forgotten it when the waves and wind became too great. They forget He said He would meet them on the other side. They simply had to believe and keep moving forward. Jesus needed this situation to happen to show them it wasn't about what they could do, but about what He could do.

We need to stop focusing on our wants and needs in a situation, but instead asking God to do His will in it. Like Gideon who has 32,000 men ready to go into battle with him even though he was seriously outnumbered by the Midianites, God told him to ask all the men who were afraid to leave before the battle happenened. He didn't want weakness in the midst of what was to come. 22,000 of those men left, leaving Gideon with only 10,000. Imagine that 2/3rd of his men left because they were afraid. How many times do we flee when we are afrraid of our circumstances.

But God wasn't done yet.

He asked Gideon to take the men to a watering hole and to observe those that lapped the water like dogs  versus those who drank it cupped from their hands. Those that cupped the water were 300 while the other 9700 drank like dogs on their knees. God told Gideon to let th 9700 men go and he would use the 300 men to fight the impossible army and win. And God did just that because he wanted Gideon to understand that to win this battle wasn't about Gideon or what his men would do, but without a doubt they would know what God could do.

Perhaps what you are going through is wearing you down more than you ever thought possible. That God must believe you are incredibly strong to weather this time in your life. But I believe God simply wants you to understand it isn't about You, it's about HIM. He wants you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will be bringing you through this time. It isn't suppose to be about YOU, it's to be all about HIM!

Let us never forget that. He may just be asking you to eliminate those distractions from your life, that are taking you away from His greater purpose in your life. For you to simply stand back and watch with unbelieving eyes that He can do the impossible if only you'd have faith.

That is the difference between believers and the world. We serve a God for who NOTHING is impossible! He will be there in all of our storms, in our trials and sufferings. Think He doesn't care? He watched the world condemn, mock and murder his only son, because He loved you enough to restore the broken relationship that happened when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. It is why bad things continue to happen but it won't always be that way. One day God will come to judge us all and those that have a belief in Jesus Christ alone will enter into a perfect heaven and earth with Him along with all the other believers and we will never have to watch the effects of sin rob us of what was supposed to be.

If you want that assurance of an eternal future, remember there is NO other way except through a belief in Jesus Christ. Are you ready to take that step? Your life will NEVER be the same again!

Simply say this prayer:

Lord Jesus,

I believe you are the Son of God! That you were sent here by God as a man to die for my sins on the cross. I believe you rose from the dead and that by believing in YOU, I can have eternal life. I ask for you to forgive my sins, to come into my life and restore all my broken places and give me hope and life again. I ask these things in your name Jesus ~ AMEN!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life. ~ John 3:16

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes iin me will never die. ~ John 11:25

I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~ John 14:6

Discouraged? Depressed? Try God's Cure!

Oh this week, our family has been hit with a series of what I would call spiritual arrows aimed straight at our heart. While I can't go into specifics, we are trying to keep our proverbial heads above the raising waters. So what do I do in the midst of this? Well first of all, I pray. I pray because after enduring so many of these trials, I've learned that is what I need to do first. Then I ask all my fellow Christians to add me and my family to their prayer lists and to pray for us. We hold fast to the truth that where two or more are gathered in His name, God is with us! How wonderful is that statement alone. God is meeting us in the midst of our struggle.

Do you wonder what some of the signs are of being discouraged? See if any of these apply to the current situation you may find yourself in and then I will provide God's cure to help you see things differently. I don't guarantee that overnight all your problems will vanish, but I hope this may change your outlook on them today, until they do.

1. Lack of energy: We literally feel like we don't have the strength or power to endure this storm we are in. We'd rather find a way to head on back to bed, pull the covers over our eyes and pray that somehow it will be different in the morning.

2. Losing touch with reality: Ever heard these words or thoughts? No one cared that I am going through this? No one cares? Why, God am I going through this by myself while everyone else is so happy in their lives? We can't even comprehend that God cares about us. We have lost touch with what makes sense and yet those around us, can see perfectly clear that this is not the end of the world even though to us it seems like it is.

3. Losing our memory: We forget how many times we have endured trials or struggles in the past and now find ourselves consumed by worry, anxiety, and are literally stressing ourselves out so bad that we are making ourselves sick. We know that in the end, we will make it through, but we can't seem to find a way to get through one day at a time.

4. We lose heart: We fail to seek God to help us through our struggles and instead turn to ourselves which ultimately and almost always leaves us lacking in so many areas, instead of being filled with God's fullness.

All these signs combined lead to one thing: Losing Hope!

If any of you have planted any time of tree when it's young, you know that you need to stake it so that the winds and storms will not blow it over while it's trying to establish it's roots. However, if you never take the stake out, the tree will also fail to grow roots deep enough to prevent it from blowing over in a bad storm.

We know the winds of trials will try to blow us over, and that is why it's important for us to grow our roots strong. We need to dig deep into God's word through prayer and reading the Bible and even encouragement from believers to help us establish our roots. We have to learn to grow our own roots through each storm we have to endure. We will weather through it. We will bend and not break when our faith is strong. Hold fast to God and you will get through it.

Do you build your faith on sand or rocks? What happens then when the storms of life come? If your faith is on yourself, the world, money or other things (sand), you will be swayed by your feelings and emotions. However if you have your faith in God (rock) you simply need to exercise your faith and put your trust in God instead of your feelings.

We need to rest in this simple assurance as believers.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably, abundantly, exceedingly more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." ~ Ephesians 3:20.

We need to know that whatever difficulty we are faced with, we need to bring it God, daily if needed, and ask simply what He wants you to do. Remember these 4 steps:

1. Power: Ask for God's strength and power to do what you feel you can't do. When you feel like you don't have the strength to get through it, ask God for help through prayer.

2. Provision: Remember that God cares for you. You are precious and valuable to Him. Just like you wouldn't let your children struggle if you could help, neither does God and He can do ALL things to help you. Just ask.

3. Presence: God will never ask you to endure something beyond what you can bear and He will never let you go it alone. Remember even though there will be valleys and dark times, there will also come mountain tops and light once we get through it all. Then looking back down, we will see it wasn't so bad as when we were knee deep in it.

4. Protection: What can God do? He can do anything, beyond our ability to measure it, more than we could ever expect or imagine and He's waiting for us to simply ask. We need to walk through it all humbly, with gentleness, being patient that God is bring us through it and He knows when it will end, and bearing with one another in love.

Our lives, the way we live, how we endure these times, are a testimony to what God is doing in our lives. These are powerful tools to remember. The enemy loves division in the midst of struggles, to divide family's, husband against wife, parent against child, and division in our communities. So remember to come together in prayer is the strongest weapon we wage against the enemy.

If your joy is missing or lost, you've let the enemy discourage you. We need to remember through these storms to TRUST GOD!

Don't lose heart, and remember God's got a plan! He will bring your through it.