Survival of the Fittest

 

We are able to survive in this world by no other means than the faithfulness of God pouring out His blessings on our life. Some people blindly careen through each day, never realizing that God blessed them (Romans 3:19-26).

The kindness, mercy and love of our God and Savior wash us with His Word, provide for us His new birth, and renew us by the fullest measure of His Spirit within us. He justifies us by His grace and makes us heirs with Jesus of His eternal Kingdom.

His greatest gift is that He is just and He justifies us, not by our own accomplishments but by His (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7). Yet, people usually fail to thank Him for His blessings and take credit for the good things that happen to them.

We eventually get weary, burdened and burn out. We long for a time of rest from the rat-race of life. The wise person will yoke up with Christ, learn from Him and gain rest for their soul (Matthew 11:28-30).

We trust that Jesus knows exactly what we need and how to attain that. We quit doing things our way, and follow the direction of God's Spirit each moment of the day.

We cease from our fruitless labors and enter God's rest (Hebrews 4:10). We stop attempting to please God by the works of our flesh and realize that we can only prove our love to Him through obedience to His Word (John 14:15).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You that there is no longer condemnation for those of us who love You and are the called according to Your purpose rather than our own goals and desires. Thank You for Your life-giving Spirit who achieves in us what the law never could. Thank you for sending Jesus as God with us in human form to fulfill the requirements of the law and setting us free from the power and purpose of sin, the world and the flesh (Romans 8:1-8).

Remind us that in the flesh, we can never please You; but Your Spirit in us gives us Your holiness and Your life (Romans 8:9-11). Help us to depend on You for everything we need during the day. Teach us not to worry about anything in life, but to pray instead; and to trust You just like the birds of the air and the lilies in the field (Matthew 6:25-33).

Thought for the Day:

Trusting in Jesus helps us to realize that only He can rescue us from the tyranny of this life. - Romans 7:15-25

Doubting God

We actually deceive our self when we think that we have life all figured out (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). God smiles patiently at those who profess to be wise. He considers human wisdom as foolishness (Romans 1:22). As foolish as Satan was to rebel against God, he is smarter than we are. God calls him the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Yet, we have power over Satan if we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We can take authority over Satan when he tries to take advantage of us, and attempts to get the victory in our circumstances (Daniel 10:13). As Believers we can refuse to rely on our human wisdom; and, instead, seek God in all of our choices and decisions (Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 55:6).

At times, we are subjected to life's fears, worries and anxieties. Actually, we are doubting God when we worry. Sadly, worry causes us to view our self as an orphan, alone in the world without nurturing caretakers (Psalm 68:5). We are saying that we can achieve a better, more sure change in our circumstances by worrying than we can by trusting in and waiting on our Father God (Matthew 6:27).

Often we worry our self right out of faith in God. We get discouraged and we cry our self to sleep, if we can sleep at all with all of the stress hormones ravaging our body. We look to people, places and things to make us happy, when all along the King of the Universe dwells right in our heart (Ephesians 3:17).

In Christ, we have an antidote to worry. Someone said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. Everything is small stuff.” In other words, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” God is capable of perfecting orchestrating both the large and small details of our life. He daily cares for the birds and flowers; and we are even more important to Him than they are (Matthew 10:29-31).

God’s Spirit will give us the mind of Christ if we totally surrender our life to Him (1 Corinthians 2:16). Only God can save and provide for us in body, soul and spirit. We can live by faith in His faithfulness, because He never lets us down (Hebrews 13:5). We often forget that there is a seed for a miracle in each and every trial we experience.

Prayer:

Father God, the more trials we experience in this life, the more we fear we will have to go through. We insult You by limiting Your resources, power and love for us. Remind us that we can cast all of our cares on You, because You always care about us and what we need (1 Peter 5:7). Help us to depend only on You as our Savior, Lord and King.

Thought for the Day:

If we live in fear of the future, we forfeit the blessings of today.

Comfortable in My Own Skin

Read: Matt 6:25-34



"So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.”- Matthew 6:27 

In my first few years as a Christian, worry was my constant companion. Bad things happen to good people, including myself, much too often.

I do not enjoy suffering for any reason and I do not like my friends and family to suffer either. I had a habit of taking shallow breaths, intently concentrating on the issue at hand, praying intensely for the situation and attempting through the sheer power of my self-will to prevent the issues I worried about from ever occurring. Of course, this never did any good!

One day I developed chest congestion for the millionth time, and the Lord pointed out to me that hyperventilating was causing my lungs to fill up with fluid. Worry was choking the life right out of my spirit, soul and body. I had to face the facts. There were more requests than gratitude in my prayers, pleading with God to change the circumstances in my life. I didn’t even like what I looked like, where I lived or the clothes I had to wear. I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. I worried way too much. 

Then, I read Jesus’ solution to worry in Matthew 6:25-34. He teaches us that worry does not add a single moment to our life or a single inch to our stature. He admonishes us not to worry about our provision for food, housing or clothing. He points out that God effectually cares for the flowers that He created for temporary enjoyment, and He reminds us that we are far more important to Our Heavenly Father than all the lilies in the field and the birds of the air.

In bringing about my healing from worry, God went one step further. He also gave me my firstborn son, and the delights of motherhood gave me a vision and a purpose for my life. God also taught me to paint. He even allowed some of my paintings to sell. He built up my self-worth and showed me how much fun it is to be creative. God taught me to trust in Him, to obey Him and to do good to all men, especially to those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). He also promised me that I would dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8, 16:9; Proverbs 1:23).

God told me to be still and to trust that He is God (Psalm 46:10), to wait patiently for Him and not to fret, even when evil men carried out their wicked schemes against me and those I love (Psalm 37:7). He encouraged me to delight myself in Him and He would put His desires in my heart. He called me to commit my way to Him and to trust Him. Then, He would make my righteous deeds and the people I care about shine as a light to illuminate the way for others (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Our Heavenly Father already knows exactly what we need and when we need it. He promises that if we look after His business, then He will provide everything we need according to His glorious riches (Matthew 6:33). God gives us strength to walk through trials and He always works them out for our good (Romans 8:28). He protects us from our enemies (Psalm 138:7; Zechariah 9:15). He encourages us to give all our worries and cares to Him, because He really does completely care for us (1 Peter 5:7). Nothing can ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39). With Christ dwelling in us we can be comfortable in our own skin (Colossians 1:27)!

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for helping me to stop fretting about life and to start casting my cares on You. You care for me now and always. I believe, dear Lord, but please, help my unbelief when my faith waivers. When the way looks dark, shine Your light on my path. When the storm clouds gather, continue to provide me with a safe haven. Help me to trust in You and to let my light to shine so that everyone will see my life and glorify You (Matthew 5:16).

Thought For the Day:

God loves us so much that He stretched out His arms and died for us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us.





Thank you, Susan Holsinger, for the use of your photo.