Crap happens in life. Sometimes it happens for no reason, sometimes it happens for a multitude of reasons. Being a Christian is no promise of a happy life; if anything, seeing you as a redeemed child of God, the devil only wishes to make your life worse, and so, between a multitude of factors, things will more than likely go wrong in some way. I'm not writing this in a fit of pessimism, but the enemy and his ploys need to be understood.
When things go wrong, take a step back and realize there are only three true sources of problems in life: you, others, and the devil. God has made all things for good, and while trials allowed by God do occur, these are only to build you up, and not bring you down, and consist primarily of you learning to overcome what the enemy has to throw your way. God will never put you through more than you can handle, according to 1 Corinthians 10:13: "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it."
There are three steps to remember when crap happens.
--Check yourself, first and foremost. Make sure you are lined up with God's word, and if you are not, then fix yourself with God's aid, and others if they are needed.
--If you are not the source, /then/ (not before) look to the others around you to see if they've faulted you, and love them enough to help them out of it, don't simply beat them over the head for faulting you. Get others to help if you cannot resolve this yourself. Remember humility, as you are not without sin yourself; give correction and kindness, not a first stone thrown.
--If nobody is to blame, look to the situation and strive to resolve or weather it as is appropriate. God has given you an opportunity to rise above hardship; call to Him for aid, curse down the devil and his works, and use the authority God has given you, as a spirit-led believer, to speak resolution into existence.
Do not whine, do not simply play blame games, and remember above all else to be thankful, and that God loves you through your hardship. Go, and triumph!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Selah
The majority of you reading this would probably agree on the fact that our society is speed-centered; we live in America in a heightened age of technology, where our cars zoom at breakneck speed, our internet is delivered seamlessly, work is a pressure to get things done swiftly and properly and Type A personality seems to reek from our nation. Not to say that things done swiftly and in order always a bad thing, but it seems to have also permeated into our lives; we grow up quick, we fall in love quick, we snatch up a job or a car or whatever we want to buy on impulse, our marriages burn out quick and I know very few people who could appreciate a "slow life" so to speak. People live on the edge, play fast and hard, hate to deal with what's slow, and it leaves me wondering...
Why?
Take a second and stop yourself. Look at the room around you. Look at your hands, realize how they move, take a look outside and enjoy the view. A lot of people take these minor things for granted, but I'm encouraging you... stop for a second every once in a while and smell the roses. Or daffodils or lilacs or mold whatever you've got growing around your home. Just stop for a moment in time and realize what it is you could be appreciating. God made a beautiful world and He put us in it to tend for it and take care of it, originally, and unfortunately many of us get sucked into a fast-forward machine of work and play and errands and business, quick to trample one another along the way or blow folks off or not care for one another.
I don't write this to encourage laziness, but I do write it to encourage you all to take a step back from things once in a while and see. Take a second to help each other and to realize where you at, and even to take care of your own needs as well. Sure, chase the bigger picture and go fast when it's appropriate, but don't forget to remember to, every once in a while, take a step back and check yourself, and remember God, lest you lose sight of what's important.
Why?
Take a second and stop yourself. Look at the room around you. Look at your hands, realize how they move, take a look outside and enjoy the view. A lot of people take these minor things for granted, but I'm encouraging you... stop for a second every once in a while and smell the roses. Or daffodils or lilacs or mold whatever you've got growing around your home. Just stop for a moment in time and realize what it is you could be appreciating. God made a beautiful world and He put us in it to tend for it and take care of it, originally, and unfortunately many of us get sucked into a fast-forward machine of work and play and errands and business, quick to trample one another along the way or blow folks off or not care for one another.
I don't write this to encourage laziness, but I do write it to encourage you all to take a step back from things once in a while and see. Take a second to help each other and to realize where you at, and even to take care of your own needs as well. Sure, chase the bigger picture and go fast when it's appropriate, but don't forget to remember to, every once in a while, take a step back and check yourself, and remember God, lest you lose sight of what's important.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hope of the Afflicted
"But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish." --Psa 9:18
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --Jer 29:11
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." --Isa 51:6
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" --Matt 6:26
"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you." --Isa 54:10
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." --Phil 4:6-7
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --Jer 29:11
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." --Isa 51:6
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" --Matt 6:26
"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you." --Isa 54:10
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." --Phil 4:6-7
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)