Wednesday, December 1, 2010

God Always Delivers

When a man gets to despair he knows that all his thinking will never get him out. He will only get out by the sheer creative effort of God. Consequently he is in the right attitude to receive from God that which he cannot gain for himself.”
-Oswald Chambers

More and more, in my life and in the lives of Christians around me, I'm finding that when we're overwhelmed with things that are placed before us, be it trial and tribulation, persecution from others, or even something as simple as a difficult class assignment, we immediately lose all focus and want to give up. It's almost as if, when faced with the possibility of our faith being tested, we're not willing to go that far and trust in God. That always boggles my mind. Why is it so hard to just be still and know that God is God? Why is it so hard to trust that God will come through when we need him the most? Why do we sometimes lose sight of the fact that, when we confessed with our mouths and believed in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, that there will never be a day from here on out that we're not sheltered in His arms? What we need to understand is that we can't overcome what we're faced with by ourselves, only the beautiful work of God can accomplish that. If there's anything I've discovered throughout my Christian walk of faith it's this: God has never and will never give us more than we can handle. When I read the story of Jesus calming the storm in Luke 8, a wry smile comes to my lips as I think about how embarrassed the disciples must have been when Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith in Him, and in God's goodness. Guys, here's a simple piece of truth for you: When we, as humans, can't seem to measure up to the things life will throw our way, remember that God's grace is bigger than our troubles. Moreover, Jesus has the power to keep us safe from anything and everything that could ever put us into a spot of danger, and it's only because of God's wonderful love for us, that He, in His good grace, gives us the power and the ability to triumph over anything. For as Romans 8:37 says "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us". :)

4 comments:

  1. This is really good. However, me being me, I can see the other side too. I am not 100% trusting that God will be there for me because I feel I need to be in control of my life and the outcomes of certain situations and I feel like if I say "God help me" it is me just giving up and asking for help. I guess I still have lots of my own doubts as to whether God is always there. Maybe it is because I haven't had a significant situation where I could see that it was true. When a person get stressed it is probably hard to think at that moment that God is going to help them. I seriously feel horrible for writing this because it obviously brings to light my weaknesses and doubts still. I am working on it though and I have noticed it is getting better, but I guess thats just my spin on it =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your honesty Amanda. It takes a a lot of courage to admit our weaknesses, or even our doubts for that matter. However, I would love for you to take a look at Psalm 51. One of the biggest thing God desires from us is a man with a broken heart; to come to Him admitting that we've messed up, we don't know where to from here, and we need His strength and guidance to make it through. There have been countless times in my own Christian faith when I've even doubted whether God has truly been there for me. I can promise you, though, that He really is always there for us. And if you want to know where that promise to us is, it can be found in the very words of Jesus himself in Matthew 28:20 "...and behold, I am with you always, to he end of the age". :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I definitely agree with Kris - doubting is a part of growing in our faith though. With doubts we question, and with questions we get answers, and with answers we grow. God never tells us to accept blindly. He made us curious creatures; we're always asking and wondering and getting into things, and there's a reason for that. But sometimes the hardest thing is "blind faith" saying "I can't see You, but I know You are there." It's not an easy thing. And sometimes we need His help in actually believing. The most important thing I think I've learned is that asking for His help isn't giving up, because we can't do anything in our own strength. God knows our needs, but He needs us to realize that we need Him. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love that this blog is provoking good questions and thoughts! You are all incredible!

    ReplyDelete