Friday, September 19, 2008

Trying to Do Things On Our Own

I have often thought about how we try to do things on our own and then when we are at the ends of our ropes that's when and only when we hand it over to God. Oh but it doesn't end there! We keep taking it back like He doesn't know HOW to handle it like we do. I have said, okay here it is God, it's yours, I can't do this, it's Yours and before long I was worrying about it again and again and again. I had to keep reminding myself, no I have given this to God, and I AM NOT going to take it back and start worrying about it again. It's IN HIS HANDS! And some times I would have to keep saying that when I would start worrying again about what ever it was, nope it's in His Hands!

I have learned over the years you first have to take it to God, and then you can handle it WITH His help, what ever it is. But like I said, I have had to keep reminding myself nope, it's in HIS HANDS now, NOT MINE! It's HIS!

Several years ago I was sharing with some christian ladies about something I was going through TRYING to find a solution for and I was at wits end worrying over it. A few days after I shared my problem with them, it hit me, Rose, turn it over to God! He KNOWS ALL about the situation and JUST how to handle it! Then I thought, DUH now WHYYYYYYYYY hadn't I thought about this BEFORE NOW! And then something else hit me later on, now WHYYYYY didn't those ladies OR at least ONE of those ladies tell me to pray about it? Why didn't one of them at least ask me, Rose, have your tried praying about it? Then something else hit me, they're in the same boat I am, trying to handle things on their own to. I'm not trying to be critical of these ladies. I was seriously trying to find a solution to my problem, turning to them for help. When I turned it over to God, He had in handled in less than two weeks! The problem stopped just like when you fix a leaky faucet, the water stops. I didn't have to DO anything, BUT hand it over to God and tell Him that I COULD NOT HANDLE IT and did not know HOW to handle it but I KNEW THAT HE DID know how!!!! He handled it perfectly! He truly can and will handle our situations IF ONLY we will give them to Him and ask Him to handle them for us. We can make our selves sick trying to deal with things all on our own. Sometimes we think we are allowing Him to take our problems since we pray and ask Him to but we're not letting go so He can. We're still trying to do it and He REALLY doesn't need our help! We're weak but we think we're strong. 2 Co. 12:8 tells us, My power works best in your weaknesses. Paul, like us, was a self-sufficient person. The thorn in his flesh kept him humble reminding him of his need for God and it helped others around him to see God working in his life. As we see our limits we will go more to God. If we never had any problems we wouldn't think we ever needed God. We would definitely think we could "do it all our self!"

When we realize we have done wrong we have to go to God and ask His forgiveness. We also have to forgive ourselves and not keep beating our self up for what we have done or said. If we really meant it when we ask God for His forgiveness then the next thing is to forgive our self as well. Some of us are our own worst critics as well as enemies. We beat our self up for things we've done or said and will not let it go when God's already forgiven us since we asked Him to. Our God is a loving God. I just can't see Him standing there with a pitch fork demanding things that we demand from our self when the word plainly says to ask Him for His forgiveness and He WILL forgive! He didn't say might forgive, He said WILL FORGIVE! We have to stay focused on Him and His word to stay renewed and our minds renewed. The world is saying, you deserve this, you deserve that, on and on. Well Jesus didn't get these things so WHY do we think WE deserve them? The world around us wants us to think of our self. Jesus tells us to think of others more than our self. You deserve a break today, You deserve to treat yourself, You deserve to go to the spa, on and on. If we listen to what the world/satan tells us, and do what the world tells us, how can we think of others more than our self? When I give something to someone, I'm to not think of getting something in return. My focus should not be on me. If we don't do a quite time with Him and His word daily we don't have the strength we need to fight what the world is telling us, or not to do what the worlds saying because we're hearing the world more than we're hearing from God and His word because we're not IN His word regular. You can't serve two masters He says. You can't straddle the fence. You can't have it both ways. You're either hot or cold He says in His word. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways He says. I always like to say, where there's a will there's a way. There HAS to be a will, you have to BE WILLING. But we really can, do all things through Christ who strengthens us, that didn't say, through our self, it said through Christ!!! I have to depend on Christ for He and He ALONE is my strength AND my rock! I am MORE than a conqueror through Him. Greater is He that is IN ME, than he that is IN the world. I'm not of the world. I can't think like the world, because I am Gods child and I have a map I have to go by, the Holy Bible. That is how I am suppose to behave by what it says. I've often heard this asked by Christian folks I look up to, if you are the only Bible some folks read, what are they reading in you? Do they see Jesus, am I leading them to Jesus? Do they feel His peace when they are around me? Do they feel His comfort, Do they see my joy because He's within me? There's NO WAY we can do it all on our own! We HAVE TO HAVE God's help and His guidance in our life day by day EVEN in the little things, NOT just the big things. He REALLY is there for us and REALLY does love us! Call on Him in the little things AND in the big things!