"I can't do this myself"

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

To me this verse is heard, believed, and understood completely at this present moment. I'm so grateful to serve a God who is bigger than my problems can ever be and how even when it feels as though no one else really understands just how painful it is - God says "I do."  

Personally I feel closest to God when I'm dealing with a difficult time in my life. Though I do not particularly like said difficult time I do love the indescribable peace that rushes over me when I turn to Jesus for help upon recognizing that I simply cannot go about overcoming this on my own. I also begin to see how utterly messed up I'd be if it weren't for the saving work of Christ in my life. Quite frankly it's because of Christ, and Him alone, that I have this firm foundation that is impossible to shake. No pain I feel or hard time I face can ever be greater than the love Jesus has for me.

Currently I'm living out the verse in Job where it talks about the Lord giving and the Lord taking away. Not too fond of the taking away part of it all but I have to realize that giving up things, people, situations, ect, to the God who created all things is a lot better than trying to keep them all in my sinful, selfish, and often unsteady hands. Once I muster up the strength to release what I've been holding on to so tightly I then begin to see why He wanted it from me so badly in the first place. Because typically He'll do something with it I never could have done on my own, or ever even dreamed of doing, but it just goes to show how little I know and how awesome He is.

Challenge of the week? Have more faith to give things to the One who created you, knows your every need and desire, and in the end will work any situation out for your benefit and ultimately His glory. 

-- "When I don't measure up to much in this life - I know I'm treasure in the arms of Christ" --

"Changing things and changing times, Changing people and changing minds"

Change.

Some change in life is necessary, needed entirely, and happily embraced. It’s been a long time coming and we are ready for it. All preparations have been made, plans are set in motion, all that is left is simply to take a hold of it and own it. Easy, simple, comfortable change.

The other kind of change? Yikes. But here is an analogy. It is as if you’ve been running on a treadmill all your life and have just grown accustomed to this way of life because, hey, at least you are moving – right? Then someone comes along and either brutally or gently mentions “Uh, hey, you are on a treadmill and not going anywhere. Try getting off the treadmill and take this path instead. It will take you some place better than this.” So now you are moving, but you are finally moving towards something. It’s either going to excite you or scare the daylights out of you. The beauty of it all is, though, is that ultimately YOU are in control of how it is handled. You can either be miserable with this change or you can be excited about it. What matters is that you own this decision. Make it your own and stick with it.

As a Christian I often feel that I’m on a treadmill in certain areas in my life. It doesn’t matter that I’m walking a repetitive and mundane path but what matters instead is that I’m moving at all. But sometimes God will come along and pull the emergency stop plug and I come to a screeching halt. Those moments are never fun and often result in me being violently flung back about 10ft and it’s usually then, and only then, that I realize what He was trying to pull me away from. So while it is painful to fall back that far, that fast, I see the necessity of it all. Because prior to it I was only seeing what was in front of me at the time and not what was around me or behind me. By God pulling the emergency plug, I got the bigger picture.

Other times He will come along side me as I’m power-walking to nowhere and gently say “My child, it is time to stop. Come with me and let me show you an alternative route.”  Every time, without fail, that I choose to go with Him I’m always glad I did and wished I’d done it sooner. He saves me all the time from the treadmill-like-paths I take. However, the alternative path He puts me on isn’t always smooth and consistent – sometimes it’s rough with unexpected pot-holes, bumps, twists, turns, and the like. But one thing it never causes me to do is run from it, or run from Him, because I'm constantly reminded that He loved me enough to die in my place on the cross – how can I not trust Him with the very life I now have because of what He did? 

Something to think about.