God Is Greater

We are faced with the issues of life daily. All we must do is turn on the television and we are faced with violence, from armed robberies to home invasions to gang violence and violence in our schools. If we do not turn on the television, we are still faced with our own personal struggles. We may be faced with unemployment or underemployment. Homelessness, or facing foreclosure or eviction. We may be faced with failing health or concern about family or friends who are facing the situations I’ve just described.

What we must come to realize, remember, and remain steadfast on, is the knowledge that God is greater than everything we may face.

We read in Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

God does not promise we will not face or be impacted by the trials and tribulations of this world, but He does promise He will deliver us from them all.

As difficult as it may be to execute, God does not want us to be stressed, worried, or overwhelmed by the issues of life. He tells us in 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you. Easier said than done you may say, and you are correct if you are trying this on your own. John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing. God wants us to be completely dependent upon Him. Proverbs 3: 4-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

When we are bogged down with the issues of life, it becomes difficult for us to focus on our purpose, or God’s purpose for our lives. We become distracted. Rather than looking at God, we look at what is going on around us. I’m reminded of Peter’s actions in Matthew 14:30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. As long as Peter’s eyes were fixed on Jesus, he was not concerned about the violent winds tossing the water to and fro. Was Peter aware of the winds? Of course, he was. Verse 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

Just as Peter and all who were on the ship with him were aware of the waves and strong wind, we too are aware of the turmoil that sometimes surrounds us. It is important our eyes are fixed on Jesus, as Peters eyes were fixed on Jesus. It is when we waver and our gaze moves from Jesus to our circumstances that we begin to sink into distress, worry and anxiety as Peter began to sink into the sea.

Oftentimes we allow our emotions to rule us. We allow what we feel to control our state of mind and our actions.

We read in 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. God does not want us to be worried or stressed. He wants us to give Him everything that concerns us. Does He know our state of mind and what’s on our mind? Of course, He does, but when we speak to God and tell Him we are turning whatever it is over to Him, we are saying God, I cannot handle whatever it is. We are saying to Him, Lord, I trust you to take care of it. Trust is the operative word. God wants us to put our Trust solely in Him.

We are not equipped to carry our own cares. If we were, God would not tell us to give them to Him. When we hold onto our cares our emotions take over. We begin thinking with our carnal mind rather than with the mind of the spirit.

As we continue reading verse 8 of 1 Peter chapter 5, we read be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Thinking with the carnal mind invites the adversary in. Our mind, by use of the fiery darts the enemy is sending our way begins to have thoughts that are contrary to the word of God. Thoughts of worry and doubt.

Remove the emotion. Keep your focus on God. He is greater than anything you will face in life.

DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN THE WHY

Sometimes we get so caught up in why things are happening that it immobilizes us and prevents us from moving forward. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to ask God why, but He may not always answer. If He doesn’t answer, or doesn’t provide the answer we are seeking we must still move forward. When you get caught up in why something has happened you may feel sorry for yourself, have a pity party, walk around with a woe is me mentality. A woe is me mentality can be described as a feeling of distress, sadness, or grief, all of which we know God does not want us to wallow in. As a matter of fact, He wants just the opposite for us. He gives us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. We don’t always see our way clear while in the midst of a storm, but once we get through the storm we always recognize and acknowledge it is God that has brought us through the storm. It’s my opinion, that when we start thinking we could have done something to prevent something from happening, or we try to fix something that has happened we are being prideful. I’m not saying we shouldn’t take responsibility for our actions. What I am saying is that when we think we could have changed something that was beyond our control we shift our confidence from being in God to being in ourselves. We know we cannot change what has already occurred, so instead we seek God for wisdom. We ask Him to give us guidance and instruction, while at the same time giving us the peace and strength that we need to get through whatever we encounter. We can’t allow others to blame us for things that are not our fault. If you train up your child up in the way in which they should go, and they commit a crime it’s not your fault. If you do everything you can in a situation and things do not go as planned it’s not your fault. Don’t let people goad you into thinking something is your fault when it is not your fault. Once again you are getting caught up in the why. We can either get caught up in “the why” and literally make ourselves sick, with headaches, high blood pressure, knots in our stomachs and restless nights, or we can decide to seek God and His peace, recognizing that what’s done is done and worrying about what has already occurred will not change it. Change the way you think. Instead of thinking about why, think about who. Think about who can bring you comfort, who can bring you strength and who can bring you peace regardless of why. Think about Jesus.

The Helmet of Salvation

There are so many things that can cause us to worry, to be distracted, to be stressed and depressed. But because God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind I believe that He protects us from the many things that could cause us to have fear, to be worried and distressed, but because of His love, His mercy and His grace He keeps our minds in perfect peace, even when we don’t even realize it. I believe God places that helmet of salvation over us when we confess Him as Lord and Savior. But the enemy tries to tilt our helmet to the side or knock it off of our head by launching his fiery darts at us, allowing our mind to be exposed from time to time. We know the tricks of the enemies. Just like he knows which buttons to push, which darts to shoot as us to distract us and take our attention off of the comforter, the Holy Spirit that resides in us. We also know our own weaknesses. We know what will rock us. Knowing this we need to put up guard. We need to remain steadfast in faith and prayer.