Skip to main content

Not Up to Us

    When stressful situations come into our life, it is tempting to freak out. We innately begin to figure out how we are going to handle the stressor. This just causes more stress. Why? Because we cannot handle it on our own. Stressful circumstances in life are the perfect opportunity to trust God and build your faith. 

    We often do not recognize the day-to-day struggles that God uses to try and build us up and draw us to Himself. We can think that those every day stressors have nothing to do with God! We think it is completely up to us to pass a class or get our work done before a deadline, etc. But Jesus should play a role in every part of our lives. 

    It has been amazing to me to see how He has tested my faith in areas I thought had nothing to do with! School was one of them. We are taught in the world that you get out what you put in. If that were true with God, we would all be going to hell. Of course we do our best, but His grace is here to fill in where we lack due to our fallen nature. I found out His grace even extends into my grade reports.

    Is there any area of your life that you have cut God out of and taken the weight on yourself? Personally, I constantly have to check myself on this. It is so easy to brush Jesus aside as if He can't help and then take on all the pressure of doing things yourself. You were not meant to bear that weight. Hand over your entire life to Jesus today, including the non-church areas. Watch how he transforms your life by taking the pressure off, building up your faith, and miraculously coming through in tough times. 

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (ESV)

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (ESV)

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (ESV)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Seeing by Faith

    When we are trying to live by faith, the things that inhibit us are the things that are right under our noses. We are trained to live based on the things around us. We don't believe anything if we don't see proof of it. The things around us are more our reality than what we say we believe in. But the Bible tells us that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We are to live based on what we know is truth, not by what we see.     The things we see around us distract us from the reality we should be living in. What is unseen is eternal and more important than the things of this world. We need to fix our eyes on what is lasting and know the difference. We need to be filling ourselves with the word and not the world. When we are distracted by the world, we forget the truth. We become discouraged and doubt our faith. We need to draw strength from one another so that we may run the race with endurance.     What is determining your reality today? Is i...

Think Twice

    When the Holy Spirit was sent to us on earth, it made Jesus readily available to all. Now He lives in us, not among us. When you are a born again Christian, you now have Jesus dwelling inside you. How does that affect your daily life? Do you realize that you are a reflection of the one you carry with you everywhere you go?    Sadly, that doesn't mean much to a lot of Christians. Instead of using Jesus as an instrument of love, hope, and salvation, they use His name as a weapon. They spend their time boycotting instead of praying for Jesus to change hearts. Telling others that the God who IS love, hates them. Letting others know that they will go to hell for their decisions, instead of lighting the way to heaven. Let me be clear: this is wrong! No one wants to believe in a hateful, unforgiving God. I certainly don't. That's why I follow Jesus.     Even if you aren't the one openly boycotting on street corners, be careful of the image of God you are g...

Receiving Graciously Pt. 1

    We've all heard sermons and teachings about the importance of giving, yet not many leaders in the church seem to cover the topic of receiving. We know that it s hugely important that we give and give abundantly to those around us. We use what God has blessed us with to bless those around us. But what happens when you're on the other end of that blessing? When God uses someone else to bless you? There are two big mistakes when it comes to receiving-- those who take too much and those who won't receive at all. Let's start with the former and finish with the latter tomorrow.     We all know those people who will try to get anything they can out of others. Free food? Let me stuff my pockets for later. You're buying? Let me order the most expensive thing off the menu. Is that attitude really exhibiting the characteristics of Jesus? No. Jesus was no beggar and no taker. He wasn't one to take everything He could get out of others and we shouldn't be either. O...