So, You Want to Give Up?

Read: Habakkuk 3:17-19
 
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 Sometimes it is easier to escape than to endure. Life gets so difficult that there seems to be no way out our troubles. The torturous events go on and on. One negative experience follows on the tail of the previous one until we are covered with an avalanche of destruction all around us. People say, “Trouble comes in threes”, but sometimes, that is an understatement!

I wrote a song that speaks to this topic:

When my ship is all but sunken,
And my treasure’s lost at sea,
When my crew has all deserted
And I know not the fate of me.

When the paycheck’s always shrinking,

And the landlord upped my rent.
When my friends all turn against me
And my motorcycle’s bent.

I will put my trust in Jesus.

I will call upon His name.
And I know my battle cry
Will still remain,

The battle is the Lord’s. Hallelujah!

The battle is the Lord’s. Praise the Lord!
The battle is the Lord’s. Glory, glory!
The battle is the Lord’s forevermore.

In God’s economy, it is never time to give up. Remember what He did with so many of the Biblical saints? He waited until Job lost everything before He gave Job more than he had to start with (Job 6:8-9). He sent angels to rescue Daniel only after he was in the lion's den (Daniel 6:19-21). God rescued Peter from prison the night before he was to be executed (Acts 12:4-11). Paul says God rescued him after he had the "sentence of death" within him (2 Corinthians 1:9).

He works like this in all of our lives. He waits until the last minute according to our timetable. That is why people call Him “The God of 11:59”.  He is actually always on time, according to His time schedule. He always rescues us right on time and with an abundance of blessings that follow. We find joy in hope and peace in times of trouble, when we immerse all things in prayer at all times (Romans 12:12).

Habakkuk really had a rough time too. His fig trees refused to blossom. His vines produced no grapes. His olive crop failed and his fields yielded no produce. Even his livestock dwindled until there was nothing left. But, he had a battle cry similar to mine. He said, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights" (Habakkuk 3:17-19). We can always set our hope in God, because He will deliver us continually (2 Corinthians 1:10).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, when I see nothing but shadows all around me, Your Word shines a light on my path and gives me a lamp for my feet (Psalm 119:105). It keeps me from stumbling in the darkness. Therefore, even in this dark time, I can grasp Your hand and hold on. You alone are my hope (1 Timothy 4:10).

Thought for the Day:

God always brings us victory out of defeat.



(Thank you, Ann Hill, for sharing your lovely photo.)

A Christian's Sense of Self-Worth

Read: 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

We are custom made by God with a body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5: 23). This makes us a very valuable creation, unique and loved by our Creator. He fashioned us to fulfill a specific purpose in His plan for mankind. This is a function, which no one else can completely fulfill.

He calls us to a spiritual, emotional and physical employment, which He designed especially for each one of us. You have worth and value to God because He created you, died for you and will come again for you, if you place your trust totally in Him instead of in yourself or any other created thing or being.

When I use the word “self-worth”, I am not talking about self-esteem, self-image or any other carnal concept taught in today’s society. These terms are adopted in order to prop up a dying race that is self-centered, humanistic and separated from God. We are talking about having worth, strength, talents, merit, capability and significance through Christ within us. When we are at our weakest as a human being, then God can be strong in and through us.

Unhappy people are depressed and irritable and often have a low sense of self-worth. Joy, peace and contentment are by-products of righteous obedience to God. Only through a relationship with God can we realize the full potential of our worth. Godly self-worth gives us the feeling of being comfortable with “who I am”. Self-worth frees us to give of our self in service to God and to others. This is the kind of self-worth we are truly looking for in our lives.

God created us exactly as He wants us to be (Psalm 139:14-16; Isaiah 45:9-11). He continues to work in our lives through sanctification, bringing us ever closer to perfection (Ephesians 2: 10, 22; 1 Thessalonians 5: 23, 24; 1 Peter 5: 20). We never have an opportunity to think too highly of our self, because God designed us as we are. He has a blueprint for our life, and He is perfecting us according to His plan for our life.

C. S. Lewis stated, “…For here the pleasure lies not in what you are, but in the fact that you have pleased someone you wanted to please. The trouble begins when you pass from thinking, ‘I have pleased him; all is well,’ to thinking, ‘What a fine person I must be, to have done it.’" 

What is the difference between self-worth and self-centeredness? Self-centeredness manifests in characteristics such as arrogance, self-absorption, inordinate thoughts about self, considering self above others and pride. Self-worth is evident through humility, compassion, contentedness, honesty, courage and grace. We are sinners who can do nothing to impress or please You (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:6-8).      

Just how do I develop a sense of self-worth if mine is non-existent? We start by reprogramming our thought patterns. Due to negative feedback we received from people in our past and/or present, we may need to capture every negative thought we have about our self and compare it to what Christ thinks about us. We flourish as we replace our thoughts with God’s Word and believe what He says about us. (See my other posts entitled “Who Loves You” and “Who You Are In Christ”.)

We can find God’s opinion of us by meditating on His Word. As we concentrate on how much God values our individuality, and then refuse to compare our self with anyone but Jesus, we can grow in our individuality and blossom for Christ. First, we recognize God’s work in our life. Then we share with others how God is working in our lives, and how He is teaching us to accept who we are in Him.

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us so many examples in the Bible of Your heroes who recognized Your greatness in them and depended solely upon You. Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5), Job (Job 42:6), Gideon (Judges 6:15), Amos (Amos 7:14) and Moses (Exodus 3:11, 4:10-13) all realized their need for dependence upon Your greatness within them. We too find our strength in our weakness, when we depend upon Your ability within us. Our relationship with You is not based upon our self-righteousness, but only upon Your grace (Titus 3: 4-7).
     
Thoughts for the Day:

“GOD DON’T MAKE NO JUNK.”

“GOD TAKES BROKEN PIECES AND MAKES MASTERPIECES.”