I am learning not to dwell on mistakes and faults of the past. That is a difficult thing to do. The pain of betrayal creeps up every now and then with painful memories of the past. And it is tempting to dwell there and feel the pain. But it does me no good.
We run this race called life, and in this race, we stumble...we fall. But if we stop to examine the spot where we fell for too long, we will lose the race. We must get up, dust ourselves off, and continue to move forward, pressing on to the goal. Paul says it best in Phil 3:13 "No, dearbrothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing:Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." No looking back. We can learn from the past, but we must give ourselves a fresh start. If we dwell on the sins and failures of ourselves and others, it brings a current of disappointment, like a current that would hinder a swimmer.
In order to move forward, we must throw out all the hindrances, the past imperfections of others, the sense of failure. Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
Let's travel light...with a light heart filled with the pure love that only comes from abiding in Christ. It's a love that keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It rejoices whenever the truth wins out. It never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Faith, Hope, and Love—and the greatest of these is Love.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Prescription for Worry
I was reading Hebrews chapter 4. It's a good reminder that we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. And we are encouraged to cling to Him and to always trust Him. It's easy for us to say that we trust Jesus,but do we really? He understands our weaknesses, and thankfully, we can come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. And then we receive His mercy and grace to help us when we need it.
So are we clinging to him in the day-to-day situations that we face? When we are tempted to worry about the future, do we cling to Him? He knows the doubts and fears that plague all of us, and when we go to Him, He provides everything that we need at just the right time. Why do we take on more than we were created to take on? The natural tendency when faced with a problem is to carry that heavy burden alone, buckle down, and try to solve the situation ourselves. This is not clinging to Jesus. We are not called to be the saviors of ourselves. We are believers. Our job is... to...believe.
Jesus encourages us to come to him when we are weary and carry heavy burdens. He promises to give us rest for our minds, rest for our wills, rest for our emotions. We need to be yoked up to Him and allow Him to pull the weight with us.
A great thing to do when we find ourselves worrying about how we are going to pay the bills or what to do about our marriage, our children, etc. is to stop and think about all the things that are going right. There are always things for which to be thankful. It is so empowering to pray and thank God for all the wonderful things He has done for us in the past. We can also bring to him all of those things that worry us and completely cast them onto Him. He can handle it, and He cares about what we care about. It is really amazing how tangible the sense of peace is that we get when we do that. It is a peace that only Jesus can provide. It doesn't make sense to the human mind, but it is solid. It's a peace that guards our hearts and our minds as we cling to Him, trusting Him with a sense of expectation that something good is going to happen. He gives us a sense of security deep down inside that whatever we are going through at this time in our lives will not end in total devastation. He lets us know without a doubt that we will make it!
God will provide all of our needs. We don't have to worry about anything. What good comes out of worrying anyway? Extensive worry destroys health and doesn't accomplish anything. God has our best interest at heart, and if we put our lives in His hands, what is there to worry about?
Worry is in indicator of a deficiency in faith. When we find ourselves worrying, the best thing to do is to strengthen our faith in the God we serve. It's important that we remind ourselves that anything is possible if a person believes. Everything is possible with God. When we dwell on those thoughts, make a conscious decision to believe and not doubt and to forgive anyone that we are holding a grudge against, we can pray for what we need, and God always comes through. He alone is always faithful.
So are we clinging to him in the day-to-day situations that we face? When we are tempted to worry about the future, do we cling to Him? He knows the doubts and fears that plague all of us, and when we go to Him, He provides everything that we need at just the right time. Why do we take on more than we were created to take on? The natural tendency when faced with a problem is to carry that heavy burden alone, buckle down, and try to solve the situation ourselves. This is not clinging to Jesus. We are not called to be the saviors of ourselves. We are believers. Our job is... to...believe.
Jesus encourages us to come to him when we are weary and carry heavy burdens. He promises to give us rest for our minds, rest for our wills, rest for our emotions. We need to be yoked up to Him and allow Him to pull the weight with us.
A great thing to do when we find ourselves worrying about how we are going to pay the bills or what to do about our marriage, our children, etc. is to stop and think about all the things that are going right. There are always things for which to be thankful. It is so empowering to pray and thank God for all the wonderful things He has done for us in the past. We can also bring to him all of those things that worry us and completely cast them onto Him. He can handle it, and He cares about what we care about. It is really amazing how tangible the sense of peace is that we get when we do that. It is a peace that only Jesus can provide. It doesn't make sense to the human mind, but it is solid. It's a peace that guards our hearts and our minds as we cling to Him, trusting Him with a sense of expectation that something good is going to happen. He gives us a sense of security deep down inside that whatever we are going through at this time in our lives will not end in total devastation. He lets us know without a doubt that we will make it!
God will provide all of our needs. We don't have to worry about anything. What good comes out of worrying anyway? Extensive worry destroys health and doesn't accomplish anything. God has our best interest at heart, and if we put our lives in His hands, what is there to worry about?
Worry is in indicator of a deficiency in faith. When we find ourselves worrying, the best thing to do is to strengthen our faith in the God we serve. It's important that we remind ourselves that anything is possible if a person believes. Everything is possible with God. When we dwell on those thoughts, make a conscious decision to believe and not doubt and to forgive anyone that we are holding a grudge against, we can pray for what we need, and God always comes through. He alone is always faithful.
A Fresh Start
One thing I have discovered by going through life’s trials and troubles
Is that I cannot be destroyed
A new life is opening out before me…
A new beginning…
A fresh start
I can trust God and move forward
Without fear
God’s presence shines like the sun upon my paths
And His Grace is all that I need
Is that I cannot be destroyed
A new life is opening out before me…
A new beginning…
A fresh start
I can trust God and move forward
Without fear
God’s presence shines like the sun upon my paths
And His Grace is all that I need
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