God's Got You!

For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.”

Isaiah 41:13 

 

I have a confession to make:  I have trouble trusting God. Don't get me wrong, I know that nothing is impossible for God. My trouble comes when my heart knows that, until it comes time for me to quit worrying and let God do His job.  You see, I have this nasty habit of expecting God to do things the way I want them done, and He doesn't work like that.  God sees the entirety of everything and has already planned how to make everything fall into place at just the right time and in just the right way.

 

I like Martin Luther!  He bucked the traditional way of thinking and taught truth.  I have learned much from reading his writings.  Yet, I still struggle with letting go and letting God take care of me.  Am I really so arrogant to believe God can't do what He promised? No!  Am I so controlling that I feel this need to tell God how to do His job?  No!  Is my faith so weak at times that I wonder if God really is going to help me? Yes.

 

Daily my prayer has been, "Help my unbelief."  And you know what?  God has put me in situations where the only thing I could do is trust Him.  And guess what? He has proven Himself true every single time, in HIS time.  I admit that I am a stubborn child, slow to learn new ways of living, but God has been patiently working with me to help me learn to let Him deal with the details as I learn to let go. 

Learn To Let Go!!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Hebrews 12:1 

 

I'm weird.  I know it and I get it.  Guess what?  I don't care because I like being weird.  As I am writing this, I am listening to "Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi.  It's very relaxing for me and I often read and write with classical music playing.  

 

Having said that, there are days when I get so uptight and irritable (yes, I can get cranky as a hungry two year old sometimes, ask my Bride), that I catch myself so tense that I have to get up walk around and possibly punch something.  I don't punch someone, because they tend to punch back and that hurts.  

 

But I have been re-reading Chuck Swindoll's book, "Laugh Again" and have not only learned a LOT but one particular portion, dealing with happiness and contentment, I sensed God prompting me to share.  It's called LET GO: 

 

"LET GO of the habit of always looking at the negative!

LET GO of your need to fix everybody else's unhappiness!

LET GO of your drive to compete or compare!

LET GO of your adult children, especially your attempts to straighten out their lives!

LET GO of all your excuses! 

LET GO of so many needless inhibitions that keep you from Celebrating Life!"

 

I have seen too many people with their faces always serious, pinched up as if they smelled something horrible, or angry because of things they cannot control.  When we learn to let go of the things that are God's responsibility and not ours, we will be MUCH more relaxed and happier!  We MUST learn to let go of the past!  We MUST learn to let go of things that we cannot control!  

 

Let God do His job! 

What's Blocking Your View?

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6 

 

 When I was much younger, my brother and I had the chance to spend a summer with our godmother in San Francisco.  We did all the touristy things....Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, San Francisco Mint, enjoyed an Oakland A's baseball game...  At one point, she threatened to leave us on Alcatraz because we kept fighting (as siblings do).  But the one thing that amazed me was the fog that literally rolled in like ocean waves.  It was incredible to watch.  However, once it set in, driving became a hazard and so did walking.  The fog was so thick that even the Sun was blocked.

 

I hadn't thought about that trip in 45 years, yet God chose to bring it to mind this morning during my Quiet Time.  You see, I've had a LOT on my mind of late and even though I've prayed for God to take these concerns from me, they still remain.  This morning, I was praying, once again, that God would take my concerns from me so I could better serve Him.  Then the image came to mind of the fog and I suddenly got it!  

 

My concerns didn't drop on me all at once, they rolled in like the fog and blocked my ability to see the Son (yes, I spelled it right).  I allowed the burden of my concerns get between my spirit and God!  I realized then that I could pray for God to take them away until I was out of air to speak and it wouldn't have done any good because God won't take them from me....I have to let go of them and give them to Him!  As long as I cling to them, they will cloud my mind and heart and sap my strength (and patience).

 

So I started a new blank book.  Whatever is on my mind, heart and spirit gets written in the book for God to see.  Then the page is removed and burned as I pray for God to take these from me and not let me have them back.  Let me tell you, the scent of that paper burning was like incense to my soul.  I have not felt so relieved in....I honestly can't remember when.  Today served as a reminder for me to let go of the burdens and concerns and anxieties and frustrations and anger and disappointments and doubts in order that NOTHING will try to get in the way of God's love for me.

Weight Problem?

Give your burdens to the Lord,
    and he will take care of you.
    He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Psalm 55:22 

We have a weight problem!  There's no two ways about it, our weight problem is causing us many more problems as well!  We can deny it, ignore it, try to cover it up, but the fact is we have a weight problem and it's reaching an epidemic stage.  If we don't face it and do something about it, it will crush us from the spirit outward!

We seem to have this habit of taking on the burdens that are not ours to carry, which weighs us down and makes it more and more difficult to encourage others, be sincere, love others, care for others, pray for others, repair relationships, forge new friendships, and on and on.  We stress and strain under the weight of our burden until we become angry, bitter, hateful, judgmental, and even condemning.

What weights are you carrying that aren't yours?  How about that person you are angry or irritated with that you just can't (or won't) let it go?  How about the concern for someone else's decisions?  What about worrying about what may or may not happen?  What about anxiety over a situation beyond your control?  How about a lack of contentment?  When was the last time you actually chose not to encouraged someone?  When was the last time you complained about some situation or someone?   

Over and over, Scripture teaches us that we need to give our burdens to the ONLY one who can deal with them and us.  Jesus reminded us to "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I WILL give you rest."  Why are we so stubborn?  Why do we want to cling to our burdens?  Perhaps we have carried them so long that we have become used to them and don't know how to act if we gave them up.  Perhaps we just like being bitter and angry.  Perhaps we don't think God will handle our issues the way WE think they should be handled.  

But consider this:  If we truly trust God, who gave us life and purpose and told us to give Him our burdens, doesn't it make sense to give Him our burdens?  If you want peace, let go of that which weighs you down.

World's Strongest

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who is 6'9" and weighs in right at 400 pounds. At 29 years old, he is the World's Strongest Man.  The feats of strength he performed to gain this auspicious title are mind boggling!  If you have ever seen the Game of Thrones, he played the part of "Mountain."  This is quite an intimidating individual and enormously strong, and yet.....

When Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Jesus was talking to Hafþór as much as He was talking to you and me.  The burdens we ALL carry are not the burdens which can be seen, save only by those who truly know us.

Think of the burdens we tend to carry: 
"Oh no, the refrigerator broke, how are we going to afford a new one and what about all the food that will spoil." 

"Why do these people want to yell at me for something I have no control over?"

"My child is in the hospital and is so sick the doctors are stumped."

"I just can't seem to understand what the professor is talking about and if I fail this test, I lose my scholarship."

"I've worked hard all my life and now I am tired, but don't have enough money to retire."

There are millions of similar burdens we carry within us and they will build up and build up until we implode into full blown depression. Each one is a distraction, taking our attention off the One who offers to carry our burdens for us.  Let me ask you, How many burdens do you think Jesus is carrying?  And yet He reminds us that He wants to carry ALL of our burdens.

Jesus carries our sin. He carries our shame. He carried them all the way to the cross and laid them all down at the Throne of God having washed them in His blood.  How often do we Thank Him for that?  How often are we mule-headed and tell Jesus "I've got this" only to waste so much time and energy in worry and inner turmoil? How do we get rest from our burdens? By taking Jesus at His word and let Him deal with them.

Think about it. 

The Burden Trap

I took my troubles to the Lord;
    I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

Psalm 120:1 

 

I learn a lot from watching  Animal Planet and the other educational channels.  One of the things I learned was the method used by some tribes in the Amazon to capture monkeys.  They take a gourd and make a hole in one end just big enough for a monkey to get his hand in, and then they put berries and nuts in the gourd.  The monkey wants the goodies inside the gourd and reaches in to get them, only to discover that when he grips the goodies, his fist is too big to pull out.  

 

Now, in our minds, we think "Why doesn't the monkey just let go of the goodies and pull his hand out?".  Good question!  However, since we aren't monkeys....   

 

In all reality, we are like the monkey in our refusal to let go so we can be rescued.  Let me ask you, how many grudges are getting carried when it would be so much less stressful to let them go?  How many hurts do we keep instead of letting them go so they can heal?  How many situations that we have no control over do we still gripe about?

 

Whatever burden we carry, Jesus understands and is willing to carry our burdens to God's heart....if we are willing to: Let....them....go!

Believe It Or Not!

Ever have times when you felt as though you could do nothing right?  It was as if your every word, look, sound, even the clothes you wear, and every though or action was wrong?  Frustrating, isn't it?  It's sometimes enough to make you wonder "why bother?".  Sometimes you may even feel that everyone wants and expects you to fail.

God has been teaching me, as He most often does, that these times will come.   God has been teaching me to rely on Him even when I don't understand these times.  Why?  Because God is teaching me more and more that He is the one in control of ALL things and ALL people, therefore, when I surrender my situation, and those involved, to Him I am trusting His plan, which is to allow me to have life and to have it abundantly.

Never does the Bible say we have to like every thing that happens to us, but we are to let God have His way with US and in so doing, we are promised that everything will work out for our best and His glory.  We have to let God do His job without our trying to do it for Him.

But I'm In Control!

When Jesus entered the city of Capernaum, an army officer came to him, begging for help. 
The officer said, “Lord, my servant is at home in bed. He can’t move his body and is in much pain.”

Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”

The officer answered, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come into my house. You only need to command it, and my servant will be healed. I, too, am a man under the authority of others, and I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant does it.

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were following him, “I tell you the truth, this is the greatest faith I have found, even in Israel. Many people will come from the east and from the west and will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But those people who should be in the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home. Your servant will be healed just as you believed he would.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
Matthew 8:5-13

We like being in control, don't we?  We love being put in positions of authority and power (whether we can handle the responsibilities or not).  For some, being in the spotlight (believing we are more "important" than everyone else) is worth whatever the cost to cling to.  We get a taste of power and we aren't about to let it go.

But look at today's story...the Centurion, who is a man of authority able to order his troops to kill, defend, destroy, guard, build, tear down, move or anything else he had a mind to do. Yet, this man of power found himself in a position where all his authority and power were useless.  Understand, that servants during this time in history were disposable.  If one died, you just went to the market and bought another one.  So when this Centurion takes such an interest in his servant as to go as Jesus for help speaks of an unusual relationship.  Perhaps the Centurion and this servant grew up together in the same household, perhaps even played together, and were together throughout their lives (as sometimes happened).

But the Centurion recognized that all his hard won power and authority could not save his servant.  And in admitting that he needed Jesus' help, he achieved something most of us have yet to understand...that Jesus is in control and is the Great Physician.  He understood that God is God and he is not.  

I wish I could remember who wrote it, but this quote stuck in my mind: "Some of us think holding on to power makes us strong, but it is in the letting go that true power is unleashed!"

If you want to know just how powerful you are, grab a handful of sunshine.  When night comes, open your hand and see how brightly your handful of sunshine glows.  The only one who controls the sunshine is the One who created it...and it ain't us.

Got something you're trying to deal with?  Stop trying to control it and let God deal with it!