Broken
promises, stilted relationships, unexpected losses, crushed expectations, etc.
will taint our happiness and contentment with our life and the people in it.
These issues either have us running to the arms of our Lord, or curled up in
bed in a fetal position, totally overwhelmed with depression and loneliness.
Pain,
disillusionment, unfulfilled needs, financial ruin, tragic loss, etc. will
debilitate us emotionally, mentally and physically. We subconsciously decide
that God is not keeping up His end of our yoke with Him (Matthew 11:28-30), so
we try to carry it alone.
We
lose contact with the hand of God, and we attempt to fix things our self. However,
we end up exhausted and overcome by grief, despair, anger, etc. Stubbornly, we refuse
to reconnect with God, because He did not meet our preconceived expectations
(Psalm 22:1; Habakkuk 1:2).
We
either pridefully trudge on, adopt an addiction, or contemplate ending our
life. We feel hopeless and alone. What we fail to realize is that we may turn
our back on God, but He never ever, under any circumstances, leaves or forsakes
us (Hebrews 13:5).
God
is not indifferent to our difficulty, but is working on our behalf, even during
the trying times (2 Corinthians 4:18). His love and goodness never fail us (1
Corinthians 1:9). God always plants the seed for a miracle in every trial, and
one day we wake up to see the fruit of His provision.
Our
Father God's faithfulness teaches us to have faith in Him regardless of our
circumstances. As we mature spiritually, we start to see His constant
interaction with us, and we have the sudden awareness that we are never alone,
because His presence abides within us (Hebrews 13:5).
When
we attempt to control our life, it pops out of our grasp more often than not.
Yet, when we realize that God has everything in His control, and that His ways
are more beneficial to us than our human endeavors, we suddenly find our self entering
His rest, and accepting His will for each moment that we live.
Prayer:
Father
God, we often disagree with You when you allow some handicaps into our life. We
want to live in a bed of roses, but we forget that even roses have thorns. Help
us to grow in our faith in Your faithfulness, to learn contentment in good
times and bad (Philippians 4:11-12), and to surrender the outcome of our
experiences into Your loving hands.
Thank
You for replacing our human failings with the fruit of Your Holy Spirit. When
we let go, and allow You to have full control of our life, we experience Your
peace and joy abounding in our soul. Lead us so that we can live as a city on
the hill (Matthew 5:14), surrounded by Your glory and controlled and guided by
Your Spirit. We give You all of the praise and honor that is due to Your holy name.
Thought
for the Day:
We
can ask our self if people see God reflected in our life, and if they realize
that we have taken on His yoke instead of our own; do they see His peace
revealed through our trials, His joy reproduced in our attitude, and our
dependence on His Spirit rather than on our human resources?
-
Matthew 11:30
