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Month: February 2022

It’s Not The Thing…It’s the Best Thing

It’s Not The Thing…It’s the Best Thing

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Back before the pandemic, our group ministered at a local rehabilitation center. The clergy who spoke gave a demonstration using a heavy backpack to illustrate how we walk around weighted down by all of our burdens when Jesus is walking right beside us trying to “lift” those burdens from our shoulders. It was powerful. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s the case…then a demonstration is worth 100,000!

We get so used to trying to handle things ourselves, that we don’t know how to rest in God. And here’s the thing…resting in God doesn’t mean that we will never be anxious, or nervous, or afraid. It means that when we do begin to feel those things we can “cast our cares” on Him, and allow Him to carry our burdens. But, a lot of us feel that we are not being good stewards when we do that. Surely, we must not be managing our lives well, because we shouldn’t still have so many burdens. And besides that…it just doesn’t seem right to put our problems on someone else. But, it’s not a bad thing to put our burdens on God…it’s the best thing.

We can’t keep going through this life alone. Sometimes, as Christians, we make these man-made rules that we can’t even maintain, and it keeps us in a place of defeat. We keep trying to make God like one of our friends. And if your friends are anything like mine…sometimes they are all in, and let’s face it…sometimes they’re not. 

We think that putting all of our cares on God is like “copping out,” or getting God to do the things that we should be doing ourselves, but that’s not how it is with God. He actually wants us to bring our burdens to Him. He knows that we need Him, and He loves us enough to wait for us to figure it out.

In Psalm 34:19 it says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” So, why are we struggling through trying to do something we were never meant to do? 

The best thing we can do is to let God be God in our lives, and to trust Him with all of our “stuff.”  Then all we have to do is remember that He who holds the plan…holds our hand.

And nothing will ever change that.

Until next time…

Be blessed.

These Changing Seasons

These Changing Seasons

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Today, it feels like spring is definitely on its way. We have struggled through another season of winter, and I can finally feel that newness in the air…like things are about to turn around. 

It’s like that in life too. We go through these seasons of change that help move us forward in faith. It’s believing that things that are down will come up, that sadness will become joy, and trials will become triumphs. If we didn’t go through all of those seasons there would be no growth. Believe me. I know trials are not pleasant, but they are necessary. God uses them to show us that depending on Him will always lead us to victory.

I have learned to expect the seasons of life. It proves that a new beginning is on the way. And with that new beginning comes a deeper level of faith in the God who never fails.

So, now I listen for His voice. He is always near, and He always has the answer. That means I don’t have to waste time trying to figure things out on my own. I don’t need to know the why of things…I just need to know Who. The Bible says, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 125:1-2). This says that if I put my trust fully in God…He will surround me.

I pray that if you are going through a season of change, that you will keep your hand in the hand of the One who knows you better than you know yourself. There is a gift in your trial…one that you may not be able to see, but know that it is there. God is working it all out. Trust Him. Our God is a loving, caring, and faithful Father, and He loves us so much.

Until next time…

Be blessed!

Love All Year Long

Love All Year Long

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Tomorrow many of us will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. It is the only day specifically set aside to celebrate lovers. Just about everyone will be sharing love in some form or another. Hopefully we are not waiting until February 14th to do that. Because that should be what we do everyday, right?

Although I have always celebrated this holiday, the older I get the more I realize how important it is not to wait for that one day of the year. If I want to give flowers, candy, or go out to dinner, I shouldn’t have to wait for Valentine’s Day to do that. Time is a precious commodity. We only have a certain number of days designated to us, and God is the only one that knows that information. Mark 13:32 proves it when it says, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” And since God is the only One who knows, it behooves us to make the most of our time. 

That means we need to let go of offenses, and stop living angry lives waiting for the opportunity to give someone a piece of our minds. We may have good reasons to be upset, but if what happened is keeping us from enjoying every bit of our lives…it’s not worth it. Let it go. 

Love like there is no tomorrow. Love until the pain goes away. Love everyone, even the people we don’t like so much. If we do that, God will handle the rest. The Bible says that God will contend with those who contend with us. That means that He will handle any difficulties, any struggles, or anybody that causes us problems. All we have to do is be obedient to His commandment to love one another. And here’s a news flash…it doesn’t say only love those who love us. Yikes!

Join me in working towards letting our love shine all over everyone we meet. And don’t let their willingness to receive or not receive it determine if we give it. Give it anyway. Even if we have to give it from a distance. 

Until next time…

Be blessed