In Complete Trust and Rest

Our work in our own self-effort actually hinders the work of the Lord (2 Chronicles 5:14). We spin our wheels by attempting to make things happen on our own. We end up frustrated, anxious and even angry at times.

Yet, if we put our needs and the direction of our life into God's capable hands, and allow His Holy Spirit to guide each moment of our day, we end up in the right place at the right time.

If we do not have what we want or what we think we need, we can be sure that God does not think we need it at this moment of time. We often get bored and want a change or feel desperate in some area and decide that we know what is best for us.

Yet, when we release all negative emotions and wait on the Lord's direction, we end up receiving even more and infinitely better than we ever had in our whole life (Ephesians 3:20-21).

My sister-in-Christ needed a new house. She combed the papers daily and worked with several rental agencies, desperate to find a new place to live. She falsely believed that it was up to her to relocate her family.

After many months and an inordinate amount of stress and time of spinning her wheels, she gave up, prayed for God's will and timing and entered His rest. She listened to His Spirit each succeeding day. Within a week, she had the perfect home for her family.

Another Believer had a similar story with a job. When she decided to abide in God's rest, she lost her desperate drive. She joyfully turned down a few jobs that God made clear to her were not His will for her. Within a month she had the best job in which she ever worked in her entire life and is so fulfilled and joyful now.

A widowed Believer strongly desired a new husband. She tried every avenue she could think of to find a husband. Once she surrendered her need to the Lord, she had peace and enjoyed her life as a single person.

Two years later, she met her new husband at the sickbed of a dear friend. The ailing woman highly recommended each of her single friends to one another and they started dating.

Within a few weeks, they realized that they were very much in love, enjoying the complete peace of the Lord and were married at the bedside of their dying friend. Years later, they are still head over heels in love with one another.

As we cease from our striving and trade our self-efforts for surrender to God's will, we start to serve God from a position of rest, daily obedience to His Spirit's guidance and an uncompromising desire to live in the center of God's will (Philippians 4:7).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for teaching us to cease from living life in our own wisdom and strength, and from running through life with anxiety and stress, which make us unhappy and unfulfilled in every way. Help us to be grateful to You for every aspect of our life and to be satisfied with Your provision and timing.

Enable us to enter into Your complete trust and rest (John 14:27). Help us to be more concerned with Your will than our own, more eager to seek Your Kingdom than our own, and realizing that You will give us everything we need in Your timing and way (Matthew 6:33).

Thought for the Day:

Let gratitude for God's daily provision, as well as the peace of the Lord, fill your heart to overflowing, trusting God to work out all things for your ultimate good. 

- Colossians 3:15; Romans 8:28

Adventures not Challenges

 

God taught me over the years to live life in full awareness of the immense potential available to us through our union with Jesus Christ.

Jesus within us breaks the chains of every type of satanic or earthly hindrance, which attempts to steal our spiritual freedom from us (Psalm 107:14).

He encourages us to take His yoke upon us, and to learn from Him; so that we can find rest for our soul (Matthew 11:29). We live a life of thanksgiving and praise to God.

Jesus is poised to deliver us from the bondage of every negative emotion, wound and circumstance we experience, and to bring us astounding joy that defies description and is full of His glory (1 Peter 1:8).

Our supply for each circumstance, and the wisdom to deal with it comes from Christ in us, our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). We can look at our problems as adventures rather than as challenges.

God works them all out for our good, just as He promised He would (Romans 8:28). Jesus, in the full power of God's divine nature, dwells within each authentic Believer.

His divine nature in us infuses our body, soul and spirit. Once we realize this, we rise above the dissonance of our concerns and we enter a new realm of being led by the Spirit of God.

Life is not about you or me. It is about proclaiming God to the world. He provides us with the wisdom, energy and power to teach and admonish others about what we learn from Him (Colossians 1:28-29).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that Christ lives as a light within us, showing us the way You would have us to walk in this world. Help us to use Your wisdom in everything we say and do.

Remind us to make the most of the time You give us and not to foolishly use time for our own selfish gains. Show us Your will for our life and help us to walk in it by the guidance of Your Holy Spirit within us (Ephesians 5:14-17).

Thought for the Day:

Our problems are God’s opportunities to prove His love to us and to demonstrate His glory in the earth; this fact changes our focus and attitude about our trials.

Avoiding the Pit of Depression

Three major causes of discouragement in this life are when our plans do not work out for us, our expectations are disappointed and our perceived desires are not fulfilled.

We hope that our life will turn out a certain way, and when it takes a course outside of our control, we get depressed or we fight tooth and nail to gain control again, which is impossible.

The little nagging issues that arise, setbacks that occur and people who disillusion us will wear our nerves thin and gang up to overwhelm us.

These issues etch away at our positive attitude and tear us down to the point of exhaustion. Rather than to succumb to them, we come up with witty mottoes to discharge our anxiety, such as: "Trouble only comes in threes."

The remedy for plans going wrong is to stop making them.

We can avoid so many negative aspects in life by walking in the Spirit and seeking God's counsel for each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6). We consult God for His plans (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Through prayer, we find out God's desires and walk in His Spirit, accomplishing so much more through His direction, inspiration and power than we can through our own human strength.

God's love, instead of our human compassion, directs us according to His will. ​When we walk in His ways, we find the resources, words and ideas we need to accomplish His list for our day.

We set our priorities according to Biblical principles, and we keep Jesus as our first love. ​As we rely on God's agenda and wisdom, rather than on our human capabilities, we live a life centered in Him.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to do only those works, which You planned for us before we were even born (Ephesians 2:10). This means that we may say "No" to the good things and the dire needs presented to us, unless You tell us to help.

Teach us that although we may feel guilty for not helping someone in need, even when we have the time and means to help, to obey You and not to step out of your will for them and for us by helping anyway.

As we wait on You, we never enter the pit of despair, because we view all of the opportunities, issues and demands in our life with the eyes of Your understanding and according to Your will for us.​

Thought for the Day: 

Rather than living under the tyranny of the next item on the agenda, or the next emergency, which presents itself, we dispel depression and stress by totally surrendering to God's direction.