One last thought on "God In The Middle Of It (With Us)"--thanks for sharing, Cathy. BTW, I know lately these have been a bit longer than usual, but based on the number of responses to this string of RSTs, obviously a lot of you are or were wrestling with hard things, so thanks for sharing with the list and just keep on keepin' on (with your spiritual walk), God is not going to leave you hanging (BTW, more on that new topic next RST)...
"The hurricanes of life come. Just like a physical hurricane leaves one disoriented and fighting for survival, so it is with spiritual hurricanes. As the winds pour down destruction, so will the spiritual arrows of overwhelming fear. As the spiritual attacks try to destroy us, we must LISTEN to that still small voice that was once easier to discern. When the spiritual attacks come in the midst of a hurricane, it can be very difficult to know whose voice we're really hearing, it's very difficult to really know God's will and at such a vulnerable time--my survival depends on being in His will.
"This is where Faith comes in. Faith is action. I have to step out while I'm being attacked and keep focused on His Word. The Word is Jesus talking directly to us since Jesus IS the Word. My part is to keep LISTENING and stepping forward as I stand on His Word. As I do this, it becomes more clear that I AM in God's will. This is not easy when there's intense fear and anxiety trying to confuse and paralyze me. The key is to LISTEN, ask God if this is the direction to take, and then DO it. You probably will do it shaking in your boots because you're wondering if you really acted upon God's Word and not your own or Satan's. As you keep moving forward in Faith you gain confidence that you did choose the right course of action. You're further uplifted to realize that the attacks did not overwhelm you or destroy you. They lost their power the more you stood on His Word and moved forward to Victory. God IS awesome! He'll take you through the storm to Victory IF you trust Him and His Word.
"There is one particular scripture that I hear over and over and that has helped me and keeps me from losing it, it's Isaiah 41:10...
"Do not fear for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will help you, I will strenghten you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." But most of the time what I hear is " DO NOT FEAR!" Thanks for letting me share--I just wanted to help others who may be going through their own storms that seem to be overwhelming."
Thanks again, Cathy--love that text--brought to mind a few other passages...
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:8,9
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not consume you."
Isaiah 43:2
(BTW, if you ever mis-type Isaiah 43:2 and type 42:3 you'll find the answer to the question, "does our Heavenly Father have a gentle and patient way about Him?" Check it out...
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." Love that verse...)
And finally, of course, James 1--look that one up on your own 'cause it's well worth the read (again) and I don't want to make this installment too long (woops--too late!).
So what do I love about all of these passages? None of them talk about any expectation that we're going to escape life's ups and downs and skate through life just 'cause we're christians or "good people," in fact, if you think about it for a minute, you realize that many of these "spiritual giants" had a lot more to deal with than others around them (and than us for that matter). Interesting then that nowhere are we told that "good solid christian life = smooth sailing" --- so where did that idea come from?!? Furthermore, the opposite seems to be true: "follow me and you'll be swimming upstream." So what's the point of that?!?
3 things come to mind right away: He doesn't say you won't have troubles, but He does say you'll be able to get through them 'cause He's right there with you (yes, "in the middle of it all"). 2nd thing: troubles and hard times are inevitable here on this earth, so we might as well embrace them as a fact of life and allow God's working in us to enable growth and maturation and to improve our empathy and perspective (James 1 again). And 3rdly, this isn't all there is. Yeah, I know, settle down, I'm not saying by any means that we should live in some sort of ethereal otherworldly zone where we try to ignore this world and its inhabitants--because in fact the opposite is likely to be much more constructive to a healthy perspective: who hasn't had the experience of moping around feeling sorry for yourself when you see something and suddenly realize that someone else's life is much much harder than yours. What I am saying is that, as "believers," one of the things we believe is that there's much more after this, that this place is just a temporary stop, and that any "injustices" or hurts or burdens borne down here will pale in the light of eternity and its rewards of peace and joy and complete contentment (not my concept, I just work here--check out Romans 8).
So hang in there, God didn't promise a walk in the park, but He did promise to be right there with you--in the middle of it all.
You've been prayed for today...
Thanks again, Cathy--love that text--brought to mind a few other passages...
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:8,9
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not consume you."
Isaiah 43:2
(BTW, if you ever mis-type Isaiah 43:2 and type 42:3 you'll find the answer to the question, "does our Heavenly Father have a gentle and patient way about Him?" Check it out...
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." Love that verse...)
And finally, of course, James 1--look that one up on your own 'cause it's well worth the read (again) and I don't want to make this installment too long (woops--too late!).
So what do I love about all of these passages? None of them talk about any expectation that we're going to escape life's ups and downs and skate through life just 'cause we're christians or "good people," in fact, if you think about it for a minute, you realize that many of these "spiritual giants" had a lot more to deal with than others around them (and than us for that matter). Interesting then that nowhere are we told that "good solid christian life = smooth sailing" --- so where did that idea come from?!? Furthermore, the opposite seems to be true: "follow me and you'll be swimming upstream." So what's the point of that?!?
3 things come to mind right away: He doesn't say you won't have troubles, but He does say you'll be able to get through them 'cause He's right there with you (yes, "in the middle of it all"). 2nd thing: troubles and hard times are inevitable here on this earth, so we might as well embrace them as a fact of life and allow God's working in us to enable growth and maturation and to improve our empathy and perspective (James 1 again). And 3rdly, this isn't all there is. Yeah, I know, settle down, I'm not saying by any means that we should live in some sort of ethereal otherworldly zone where we try to ignore this world and its inhabitants--because in fact the opposite is likely to be much more constructive to a healthy perspective: who hasn't had the experience of moping around feeling sorry for yourself when you see something and suddenly realize that someone else's life is much much harder than yours. What I am saying is that, as "believers," one of the things we believe is that there's much more after this, that this place is just a temporary stop, and that any "injustices" or hurts or burdens borne down here will pale in the light of eternity and its rewards of peace and joy and complete contentment (not my concept, I just work here--check out Romans 8).
So hang in there, God didn't promise a walk in the park, but He did promise to be right there with you--in the middle of it all.
You've been prayed for today...
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