Facing Life's Challenges

Since life happens without any warning, I got into the habit, at a very young age, of breathing in shallow breaths. This is detrimental, because my body does not receive all of the oxygen it needs. My blood pressure went up, since I was hyperventilating all of the time. My mind kept my body in high alert. My soul does not react well to the uncertainty of life.

Inwardly, I felt fearful and insecure all the time. The environment in which I lived was unreliable and unpredictable. In my childhood, I grew up with emotional distance, unpredictable anger and physical aggression, which caused dread and instability. Throughout my life, I lived with repeated unsettling circumstances and unexpected changes.

For instance, I moved way too often in my early married life, and had to start over too many times. Eventually, my former husband decided he needed to move on without me, so I lived through divorce. I also experienced two car crashes in which I totaled both cars. The first accident left me with emotional turmoil and the second inflicted extensive physical trauma.

All of my life, I tried to control life to keep it manageable and safe. Of course, I failed miserably at this endeavor. We cannot harness life no matter how many safety valves we provide. I still do not like surprises and I have to remind myself to be more flexible, but I have learned some valuable life lessons.

Over my years as a Believer, I learned to keep my focus on God, to surrender everything to Him in prayer, to have faith in God’s faithfulness and to be more in tune to His Spirit (Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Romans 8:14). God taught me to cast my cares on Him, because He really does care about me.

Walking in the Spirit moment by moment keeps me prepared for the unexpected (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 77:14; Romans 8:28; Galatians 5:15-21). God also taught me that He places a seed for a miracle within every trial. With each lesson I learned, I started breathing more deeply because the feeling of impending doom disappeared.

Prayer:

Father God, You have a perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:10). Remind us to seek Your direction for each task You planned for our day, and then to seek Your face for guidance on how to do what You instruct us to do. Consumed by Your Spirit, there is no room for negative emotions. As we face new situations in life, which cause us injury, unrest and indecision, we can wait on You and face the circumstance with Your courage from within us. You strengthen us from the inside out to meet every new challenge (Psalm 27:14).

Thought for the Day:

Trusting totally in God and surrendering to His will for my life gives me His joy and serenity, which trying to control life never did.

God is in Control

There are many areas of life, which we desperately attempt to control, but they end up controlling us instead. Circumstances, people, illness, our supervisor, spouse, children, traffic, waiting in lines, etc. all influence our day in positive and negative ways. We often end up frustrated and hopeless because nothing we do will change the negative issues we are facing.

The best solution for these problems is to pray the Serenity Pray and to ask God to give us wisdom to know what situations we can change, and which we must leave in His capable hands. We can request that He give us the strength deal with the issues that He reveals are our responsibility and the courage to turn the rest over to Him with an attitude of acceptance of His will.

If we cannot change the issues, we can praise God for them, in them, and through them. For instance, our spouse is transferred to a city far from friends and family, and we and the children are resentful about moving. The only way to overcome the bitterness that is surely to follow is to realize that God has a new mission field for the family. A fresh place in the world to make a difference for Him.

       

The move is no longer a problem, not because we got our way, but because we changed our focus from carnal to spiritual, from earthly to heavenly. God cares about every aspect of our life. He is not unsympathetic about our concerns. He knows what we need, when we need it, and He will supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).

Prayer:

Father God, help me not to attempt to control life, but to live each moment of it in the center of Your will. When something or someone disturbs Your peace in me, remind me to keep my mind focused on You (Isaiah 26:3). Help me to walk in Your Spirit; and when something bothers me, give me the courage to lay down that idol at Your feet. I have the confidence that You will always either change me, or change my circumstances for my good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

When negative feelings assail our soul, they are attempting to communicate that something is wrong within. We can ask God to show us the root of those feelings and the idol causing them. Then, we simply surrender to His control, as we wait for His provision as only He can supply.

Our Identity in Christ Alone

So many people in today's society believe that they are not "good enough". They believe it so strongly that to disagree with them or to correct them heaps a weight of condemnation on their shoulders, which is just too heavy for them to bear. Even when someone attempts to encourage them, they dare not believe these positive comments.

When we come to Christ, however, He heals that deep wound in our soul. He purposely chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. His servants are weak, humiliated and despised; and He uses them to confound the haughty and to prove that Christ in us is more powerful than all the human effort in the world combined (1 Corinthians 1:27-28).

By God's Spirit, we curb our penchant to sin by trusting in God and surrendering our life to Him (Proverbs 3:5-6). Although Satan still influences our decisions and encourages us to sin, we can renounce this inclination to allow sin to use our body and soul. Instead, we submit our self to God and His perfect will for each moment of our day and Satan has to flee (Romans 6:12-13; James 4:7).

Those who are acutely aware of their inabilities and insecurities tend to depend more on God than those who have faith in their own abilities. In reality, God searches the earth for those who are aware of their powerlessness to control life (2 Chronicles 16:9). As humble Saints, we are more open to allowing God to work in and through us. 

Prayer:

Father God, You keep us in perfect peace if we focus our mind on You throughout the day and if we trust in Your perfect will for our life (Isaiah 26:3). Your peace transcends anything we receive from the world or from our own hard work and natural capabilities. The peace, love and joy we seek are not found in our position in society, the honor of our accomplishments, the status of our reputation or our accumulation of wealth and possessions. We rest our identity only on Christ within us, and we value Your opinion of us more than that of any person alive, regardless of their position, accomplishments, reputation, financial status or possessions.

Thought for the Day:

Rather than having faith in your abilities, trust in God's plan and purpose in your life to use You according to His capabilities.