Not "If", But "When"

"Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, 

for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do."

Joshua 1:9 

 

Have you ever wondered why Abba told Joshua to be strong and brave?  Guess what? Abba wasn't speaking just to Joshua!  He is speaking to us as well. 

 

Not only did Abba tell Joshua to be brave and strong, He told Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor."  Abba had already conquered and Joshua just had to go in and take the land Abba had already provided.  Joshua didn't have to wonder IF he would win, Joshua knew that Abba had ALREADY won.

 

Isn't this the same thing Abba has done for us through the sacrifice of Christ? Abba has ALREADY won, so we don't have to wonder IF Abba will help us overcome our challenges because He has. Life will ALWAYS bring challenges, if there were no challenges we would have no reason to believe that Abba will ALWAYS give strength to face them!   

Never Promised You A Rose Garden

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 

What do you do when things don't seem to be going your way?  What do you do when your plans seem to crumble around you and you can't see how to get out, much less the next step? 

When we feel like our world has imploded onto us, it's very easy to blame God, isn't it?  It's easy to say God isn't listening to my prayers because I didn't get my way.  Fact of the matter, God hears ALL of our prayers and sometimes allows situations to happen that will take us out of our comfort zones to challenge us to become stronger and to rely on Him more.

Jesus told us, "Here on earth you WILL HAVE MANY TRIALS AND SORROWS!"  And He wasn't kidding!  We have been warned that they will come so when they do come, we can be prepared and not destroyed!  How do we deal with these trials and sorrows?  By trusting in Jesus who reminds us that HE has overcome the world and every trial and sorrow the world can through at us.

We have to be like George Foreman when he won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship the last time when he was in his late 40s.  When asked how he did it, his response was simple: "I got up one more time than I was knocked down."  And if you have ever heard him preach (he's a preacher too, by the way) his message is "You WILL get knocked down by this world but not knocked out!  When you get knocked down, remember who is in your corner!  God is in your corner and Jesus it the referee!  Get back up because the referee isn't going to end the fight until God's plan for you is finished!"

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. 

Strong Through Discouragement

Tell everyone who is discouraged

Be strong and don't be afraid!

God is coming to your rescue.

Isaiah 35:4

 

Have you ever been discouraged?  Yeah, me too.  When I feel discouraged, I can picture Wile E. Coyote overrunning the cliff and suddenly realizing he's about to come crashing down.  Discouragement does that, makes us feel as though we are about to crash!  When I was younger, I used to cheer for Wile E. Coyote because it bothered me that no matter what he tried, he always lost.  Talk about discouraging!  You'd think Wile E. would find something else to eat, become a vegetarian, or at least find a diner somewhere.

 

Discouragement makes us feel weak and fearful.  The question I have posed to myself during times of discouragement is: "What's the point?"  You see, I was missing one key fact: God is coming to my rescue.  I still struggle with that knowledge when I am feeling discouraged, because God coming to my rescue doesn't always happen on MY timetable.  God has His plans for me and sometimes that means I must learn patience.  And how, class, do we learn patience?  By having our patience tested over and over.  Not fun, but in the end we will be stronger!

 

God IS coming to our rescue!  Keep Strong! 

Strong Enough?

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Ephesians 6:10 

 

What do you think of when you are told to "be strong"?  Do you imagine a grim, stone-faced warrior that is unmoved by anything or anyone?  How about one whose muscles are so developed that they are intimidating to say the least and are always in the mood to work harder on perfecting their physique?  Perhaps you picture a runner with more endurance than anyone else.

 

Think about this: Being strong can also mean that one is so strong that they aren't afraid to be vulnerable.  Being strong enough to let people see the real you.  Being strong enough to love others (even the difficult people and even those others tell you to give up on).

 

Let me tell you a truth, there was a time when I really needed someone to care and for a time I reached out and no one reached back.  Then God brought someone into my life that was strong enough to not only reach out to me but let me reach out to them.  Being strong can mean you are strong enough to reach out to help someone up and encourage them.

 

Stepping on people or putting them down doesn't take strength.  In fact, it's among some of the most cowardly things we can do to one another.  

 

Be strong!  Reach out!  Lift Up!  Encourage!  If you've ever been down, you know what that feels like and that should be enough to help someone else.  God does it to us every day, who are we to do differently? 

Together We Are Stronger!

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14

 

When I was in the Military, we had to run every single day.  We were either marching or running wherever we had to go.  Now, let me state for the record, I do not like running.  I don't mind marching, but running is not even among my top 1 billion ideas of fun.  However, the thing about the Military is they teach TEAMWORK!  They teach reliance on your squad, your platoon, the soldier to your right and to your left.  And they were taught to rely on you.

 

Part of reinforcing that teamwork concept was the way we have to move from point A to point B.  Whenever we moved, our Sergeant would sing cadence which helped us all going in the same direction, at the same pace, and we moved as a single unit.  Those in the front would shout encouragement to those behind them.  We left as a single unit and we arrived as a single unit.

 

So do we do that with each other now?  Do we encourage one another in as we run with Christ?  Do we come alongside when someone needs some help or encouragement or a hand or do we wait for someone else to do that?  Are we going toward the same goal?  If so, how then are we running?  Together or "hope you make it by and by"?

 

We are so much stronger when we are able to put aside our petty issues and run together!  We are stronger when we complement one another!  We are stronger when we are part of one another!  Let's be STRONG and join together in this race, forgetting what has passed and focus on getting us to the goal of the calling of Christ!

 

 

 

Nothing Can Stop You!

And after you suffer for a short time, God, 

who gives all grace, will make everything right. 

He will make you strong and support you and keep you from falling. 

He called you to share in his glory in Christ, a glory that will continue forever. 

1 Peter 5:10 

 

 

What have you faced in your life?  Financial stress?  Divorce?  Job Stress?  Just can't seem to catch a break?  All of the above?  

 

Here's something we tend to forget (and so do I), stress, anxiety, worry and fear are NOT Problem Solvers!  They make the problem worse in our minds.  You see, our minds have the nasty little habit of taking a situation, adding worry, stress, anxiety and fear to it, and making a debilitating soup that makes us, not only feel defeated, but makes self defeating people.

 

It's not bad enough that the issues we face are tough on us, add to that the fact that, while your supposed to be dealing with the issue you have to slap on the "happy face" for everyone else while your mind begins taking side trips down "Worst Possible Outcome" Lane.  And thus begins the spiral.  

 

Meanwhile, we forget the most important part of this process.  You see, you're still here.  That proves you are stronger than you give yourself credit.  God has brought you through every breath of life so far and you are still here!  

Let me ask you the same questions I have had asked of me:

     *  How much money will all your worry, fear, anxiety, and stress put into your bank account?

     *   How much longer will all your worry, fear, anxiety, and stress extend your life?

     *   How much happier will all your worry, fear, anxiety, and stress add to your life?

 

God has not called us to be fearful.  He has called us to be afraid.  He has not called us to be stressed or worried.  God has called us to be His Children!  And as His children, HE takes care of us!  And we WILL come out stronger, in spite of what we face, because nothing and no one can change His plans for us!   

 

 

Acknowledge!

Trust the Lord with all your heart,
    and don’t depend on your own understanding.

Remember the Lord in all you do,
    and he will give you success.

Proverbs 3:5-6 

Worrying....we're good at that.  We look at the news, see all the chaos and mayhem and start to worry.  We wonder why such things could happen.  We fear that it will come to us.  We worry, fear, worry, fear, and then we hide.  We offer weak prayers to God of "please bless this country" while we do nothing else!

Look at God's Words: "TRUST in the Lord (not in sports, not in weapons, not in weak prayers) with ALL your heart and do NOT depend on YOUR own understanding."  That's pretty slap in the face plain, isn't it.  It's hard to Trust God when it seems we are surrounded by the storms.  But wasn't it in the midst of the storm that God the Son said "BE QUIET!" and the storm obeyed?  Trust God!  

Are you still breathing? Trust God and thank Him!

Are you still working? Trust God and thank Him!

Are you still able to get around? Trust God and thank Him!

God tells us to "Be Still And KNOW that I am God!"  But the problem we have with that is the "Be Still" part.  I can sit still, but I have a very hard time BEING still.  Being still requires that I stop thinking about work; stop daydreaming about a vacation; stop worrying about the absence of funds in my account; stop letting my mind wander and TRUST GOD!

We see people taking a stand for Christ every day!  We see sports athletes acknowledging their accomplishments and achievements as being gifts of God.  So why can't we?

Here's my perspective, take it for what it's worth: My job is to Trust God in everything. It's God's job to make sure I complete His reason for my being here.  And when my time comes to leave here, it will be because God has called me home.  And guess what I will be doing then? Praising God for getting me home!

Our prayers should never be weak!  Pray BOLDLY!  Why? Because the God we serve is not weak!  The God we serve is ALL powerful!  Don't try to limit Him!  Pray that God will work His limitless plan through you!  And you will see amazing things!  TRUST in the Lord with ALL your heart, and don't rely on your own understanding!  We may not understand why God does what He does, but our job is not to understand all they why and wherefores.  Our job is to TRUST Him!  Let HIM do His work through us!

Why Do We Fear?

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
    so why should I tremble?

Psalm 27:1

Several years ago, Tom Petty performed a song called "I Won't Back Down."  Given all that has been going on in our world, perhaps the time has come for us to say the same.  After all, we claim that God is our fortress so why should we be afraid, don't we?  We claim to trust God's plans, don't we?  We sing praises to God, don't we?  But is that all we do?

In the good times, we are quick to say "God has blessed me!" But honestly, I have heard those same lips question God's love for us when things aren't going our way.  And if I am truly honest, I have done it too.  But I am learning!  God loves us ALL the time!  God blesses us ALL the time!  God protects us ALL the time!  Even, and especially, when things seem to be going against us.

Stand strong!  Be firm in your faith!  Trust that God has you!  Pray for each other! Love each other!  As believers, we are part of each other, so let's stand together!

A Little Dab Will Do You

 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

~Matthew 17:20

Faith is not an easy concept to grasp, so let me try to explain it as best as I am able.  Every time you take a breath, you expect there to be oxygen for you to take in.  This is faith!  Every time you sit in a chair, you expect it to hold you (unless you are using doll furniture).  That is faith!  We have faith in a lot of daily happenings that we don't even give conscious thought about.  Our faith in these things is strong and we can rely on the routine of these things.

Now....when I was young, my elders (who shall remain nameless for now) thought the best method of teaching me to swim was the "sink or swim method" whereby I was heaved off a dock into water well over my head, and I would have to figure out pretty quickly how to keep breathing.  Not fun in the least, was that!  But I grew to have faith in the fact that water and my chubbiness would bring me close enough to the surface that I could manage to get my head above water long enough to gasp a breath.  After several times of doing this, I figured out that if I just relaxed, I would float.  I hated learning to swim and still don't enjoy the endeavor, but my faith in God's physics of floating fat has grown dramatically.

The same holds true as we we seek to grow our faith in God as He deals with us in our every day life!  Recently, I submitted my Timesheet at work and received a rather abrupt response that it had been rejected.  I tried again and several hours after they were due, I got another notice that it had been rejected again.  By this time, the deadline to submit my timesheet was past and, try as I might, I could not access my Timesheet to see what could be done.  And in the midst of the images of missing a paycheck and all the repercussions of the absence of funds I felt as though I was drowning, and I prayed for help. And, believe it or not, a peace settled on me and I in the quiet of my heart I heard "Trust Me."  The next morning, the most wonderful person in the world helped me make sense of the issue and helped me get it corrected. And my Faith Grew!

If you look at the photo, you will see a single mustard seed.  It is tiny!  Jesus said if our faith were even as big as that tiny seed, we could move mountains!  The giant plant you see the man standing in front of grew from a single tiny mustard seed.

Think about this, people go to the gym and lift weights until their muscles are huge and their veins look as though they will explode.  But they had to start small.  Just like our faith starts in the small things.  Imagine what we could accomplish if our faith grew like the muscles of the weightlifter.  Just imagine....is it time to start working out at the Faith Gym?