Do you ever wonder why you let the devil get the best of you? I do. Today I was thinking about the last couple of days and how I just let him have fun with me. I say have fun because I believe that when he makes us be fearful...think negatively...get totally stressed to the point of being sick...let others down...that he is just laughing at us with an evil sort of laugh. He probably thinks things like...Look at them. I ruined their day and they can never have this time back again. I can make them do whatever I want...feel whatever I want...because of their lack of faith and trust in the God they say they live for! And then he laughs some more! We let him win way to many times. Of course you all know that I'm talking about myself...again. The good thing is that while reflecting on all of this, I picked up my Bible and decided to read it now instead of waiting until all seemed totally hopeless. Maybe I am learning! So I started reading in Psalms...
Psalm 63:8
I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.
your strong right hand holds me securely.
When I read this verse I knew that clinging to the Lord is what I have to do...what we all have to do. We just can't survive for very long on our own. There are circumstances that come up in all of our lives that we do not have the answers for. But, if we will cling to Him, we will have nothing to fear.
Then I turned back to Psalm 62 and continued reading...
David knows where his strength comes from. David has figured it out. God is the one he can depend on in times of stress and trouble. God is our Rock...we can go to Him and hide. He will protect us.
My Bible says that if we will rest in the Lord...tell Him our problems...give Him our resentment towards others or a situation...lay our problems down at HIS feet...We will not be held captive by them anymore!
Sometimes it's really hard to do that. Just when you think things are good...you are giving it all up to Him...something happens and you realize that your mind set has not changed. You hear someones voice...the knots in your stomach return...and the stress/tension is back. You wonder...what will it take for you to really give it to God? What will it take for you to hold it in your closed hands in front of you...and say, "Father God, I give this situation/person to you"...turn your hands over, open them, and release it all into Gods hands? It might take sitting and waiting quietly before God. It might take doing that many times. It's better to wait quietly before God...over and over...than to continue with the stress...tension...sickness...that is caused by what ever we are holding onto.
Obviously...still learning!
Then I turned back to Psalm 62 and continued reading...
Psalm 62:1
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
My study Bible says; God never abandons us. His all-surpassing strength is always with us.
I like that. For me waiting quietly is a hard thing to do. I need to be doing something all the time and to just be quiet before the Lord is hard. However, when I am...it is good.
In vs 3-4 David talks to God about how he is feeling because his enemies are trying to kill him. Then he waits quietly before Him again.
Psalm 62:5-8
Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.
David knows where his strength comes from. David has figured it out. God is the one he can depend on in times of stress and trouble. God is our Rock...we can go to Him and hide. He will protect us.
My Bible says that if we will rest in the Lord...tell Him our problems...give Him our resentment towards others or a situation...lay our problems down at HIS feet...We will not be held captive by them anymore!
Sometimes it's really hard to do that. Just when you think things are good...you are giving it all up to Him...something happens and you realize that your mind set has not changed. You hear someones voice...the knots in your stomach return...and the stress/tension is back. You wonder...what will it take for you to really give it to God? What will it take for you to hold it in your closed hands in front of you...and say, "Father God, I give this situation/person to you"...turn your hands over, open them, and release it all into Gods hands? It might take sitting and waiting quietly before God. It might take doing that many times. It's better to wait quietly before God...over and over...than to continue with the stress...tension...sickness...that is caused by what ever we are holding onto.
Obviously...still learning!
4 comments:
Ahh Chelle - you and me both! I'm still learning too and sometimes it takes me a while to realize I am the butt of the evil one's jokes. I too am clinging to His word this week and trying to do so quietly. Thank you for your encouragement even when you are struggling. God bless and I pray for you this week is quiet in His peace and joyful
Tracy
Tracy, this is the second time today I have read about waiting upon God... when this happens, I know God is drawing my attention to something.
There are times when all we can do is wait and hope upon God. I have been in one such situation for five and a half years - but be encouraged because God says in His Word that those who wait upon Him shall not be put to shame.
Thank you for visiting ECTas today. I have become your most recent follower.
Wendy @ ECTaS
You know Chelle I use to ask that question all the time why do I let him get the best of me at times and the only reason or answer I have is that there are times when I just want to have it my way and when I do I wrestle with doing it God's way or my own...We aren't perfect we will error many times but it still does not give us an excuse to let the enemy have his way with us for God gave us victory...AMEN
I know exactly what you mean about it being difficult just being quiet before God, I too am the kind to prefer always to be doing something :) I worry sometimes that God may choose to keep me in a permanent situation that will cause me to be in a state of stress and anxiety, as this seems very often to be the only time I'm capable of coming close to "giving it all to God" and laying everything at his feet! It's so easy to fall back into our our own ways and forget to lean on God not ourselves when the going is good, and we don't even realise we're doing it until something bad happens to shake us out of it! Definitely a big learning curve with God!
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