It
is so easy to give up on God when our circumstances overwhelm us. We think He
abandoned us and left us in the pit of despair all alone. We feel discouraged
and distraught, wondering which way to go and how to get there.
The
opposite is actually true. God is right down there in the mud and mire, loving us
through it all from within our spirit (Hebrews 13:5). Over our years of walking
with the Lord, our confidence in Him grows.
If
we cling to this confidence (Hebrews 10:35), God richly rewards us with His
presence (Galatians 2:20), His mercy and grace (Ephesians 2:4-10), His wisdom
and power (1 Corinthians 1:18-21), and the list goes on and on.
Unrealistic
expectations, of what God is going to do for us, shake our confidence in Him.
We quote God's promises to Him, and hold Him accountable to give us what He
promises at the exact time that we want it. However, God is not our puppet or
Aladdin's lamp.
He
is the Supreme Being of the entire universe, the Creator, the Almighty. He
tells us what to do, not the other way around. We pray, "Lord, Your will
be done" not "Lord, do my will and do it now." God holds all the
cards, and we have no bargaining power.
Discouragement
is the precursor to us losing our confidence in God. Unmet expectations cause
discouragement. This vicious cycle comes from a finite mind with earthly goals
and priorities. Making heavenly issues our priority prevents this from
happening.
A
key to living a fulfilled life, is to trust only in the Lord with our whole
heart, and to gratefully receive His blessings when He provides them,
regardless of what they are. We hold on to our confidence in God and refuse to
define our self or to limit God by Satan's lies or by our own fears and
insecurities (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Prayer:
Father
God, it is easy for human beings to focus on the negative, and to forget to
count all the benefits that You provide for us throughout the day (Psalm 103:1-22).
You use our hang-ups and habits to provide us with a launching pad to grow more
intimate with You every day, because they humble our pride and make us more
dependent on You.
Thank
You for giving us the desire and the power to walk in Your will and Your ways
(Philippians 2:12-13). Your Body is all around us in every part of this world.
We gain encouragement by worshipping with one another, and growing together in
Christ (Hebrews 10:25). Help us to relinquish our expectations and to court a peaceful
existence, accepting Your will for our life and adopting it as our own focus,
goal and desire.
Thought
for the Day:
If
we do not allow our temporary and light affliction to limit our faith in God's
faithfulness - regardless of how severe we think it is at the time we are
experiencing it, we will be able to trust in the seed for a miracle, which He
plants within every trial that invades our life.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17.
