God always give us His help
in our time of trouble and trials. However, we are so focused on the negative
circumstances in our life that we often overlook His help. If the primary focus
of our thoughts is on the Lord, we will realize that God has everything under
His control (Proverbs 16:4).
Nothing can come against us outside of His will, since we are His children (Romans
8:38-39). As we fellowship with other
believers on a weekly basis, our spirit is strengthened and it is much easier
to endure the difficulties life throws at us.
Reading a daily devotion is
good, but reading the Bible is even better. If you can do both, that's amazing.
If not, then just read the Bible. It is living and powerful and works like a
two-edged sword to separate our carnality from our spirituality (Hebrews
4:12). In this world, we will experience
many afflictions, but the Lord delivers us out of them all (Psalm
34:19). If we seek the Lord, He is sure
to answer us and to deliver us from all of our fears (Psalm
34:4).
Although we experience many
bitter troubles, God restores our life again. Even if we end up in the pits of
the earth, He will rescue us (Psalm 71:20). We only need to call out to
the Lord, and He will answer us from His holy mountain (Psalm
3:4). God actually has a secret formula
for us to get through our trials with ease: "Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything by prayer and requests with thanksgiving make your
requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all human
comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians
4:6–7).
When Paul bombarded heaven three times for healing from his infirmity, God answered him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul’s response was, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG" (2 Corinthians 12: 9).
When we stop trying to
control life and give God control over our life, we allow Him to provide for
and to protect us. His mighty power starts working in us and through us. When
we surrender our life to Him, He accomplishes infinitely more through our life
than we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3: 20).
Surrender is the doorway to
freedom. It is a state of brokenness, of total dependence upon God, of
receiving God’s forgiveness and of having a personal, daily relationship with
the Lord Jesus Christ. The opposite of surrender is control. Trying to maintain
the control of our life is impossible, frustrating and useless.
When we surrender to God, we
say, “Go ahead, Lord, and have Your way with me.” The act of surrender breaks
our pride and our reliance on our “self”, as we put our life into His capable
hands. He will then restore us to the person He intends for us to be: free of
emotional pain and guilt, and equipped to serve Him in His chosen ministry for
us.
Controlling usually produces the OPPOSITE effect of what we want. Our dependency on anything other than God: addictions, people, places, jobs, things, animals ~ puts us into bondage to them. Only God’s love produces true freedom.
Another key to surrender is
to believe that the power of God truly CAN overcome any person or circumstance
in our life. We try with all of our might to hang on, to fix it, to change it,
to manage it or to try to make it right, but this rarely works. We cannot
change people or circumstances, but GOD can. Admitting we are powerless and
that we need God is the first step toward healing. God wants us to completely
surrender our will to His and to be vulnerable in His love.
Prayer:
Lord God, we often blame You for the bad things that happen in our life. We forget that You created paradise for us. Paradise is Your will for our lives. However, sin in our life and in the lives of everyone around us causes these negative situations to occur. The key to remember is that when we surrender to You, You always work out everything, even the negative things, for our good (Romans 8:28). Remind us to let go of our control and to admit that we are powerless and we need Your power in our life.
Lord God, we often blame You for the bad things that happen in our life. We forget that You created paradise for us. Paradise is Your will for our lives. However, sin in our life and in the lives of everyone around us causes these negative situations to occur. The key to remember is that when we surrender to You, You always work out everything, even the negative things, for our good (Romans 8:28). Remind us to let go of our control and to admit that we are powerless and we need Your power in our life.
Thought for the Day:
LET GOD BE GOD in your life.
