NO, NOT, NEVER!!
Wellp....here I am with another post long overdue. I'm not completely sure why I let so much time go by before I write my thoughts down. I guess LIFE just gets in the way. I mean, I do still have 2 young children and lots to do before dinner time...and although there is no pressure on me to lead anything at the church, I still have to be seen and be a part of stuff going on at the church. And that's fine...I love the church and I love to minister. But, let's be honest...there are a lot of days we would all like to stay in the bed and forego any responsibility whatsoever...maybe I'm the only one.....
Anyway, I'll just dive right in, I suppose....
I have always said that I identify the most with the apostle Peter. Have you ever thought about Peter? He is the disciple in the Bible who was always so quick to profess Jesus as his Lord and then turn around and doubt every single thing about what he believed. He had what everyone calls "foot in mouth disease". Constantly saying, "Lord, you are the Messiah!" Then turning around and saying, "I don't know Him." And then, there's the time that he said, "Let me walk on the water with you, Lord." So he got out of the boat and let all the waves overtake him and then cried out for help. What was he afraid of? I mean, for reals? Jesus was right there...in fact He called him right out of the boat into the water!!
Now, I'm going into all this story to say this....I have let the waves overtake me this week. The cares of life. The daily struggles. The same stuff everyone else deals with every. single. day. I have been sinking this past week.
I guess what I should have said is this: My ladies Bible study group has been going through a study called "Stronger" by Angela Thomas. It's all about the power of God Almighty and how He is truly bigger than my struggles and my stress and my anxiety and my issues. Well, everything I needed to hear about that study last week was out the window. I missed it...Know why? Cause I let Satan, the Father of all lies, tell me that my life and circumstances were too big for me to handle...that I needed to worry about it...but what could I do? I mean I'm this little, measly, insignificant little speck of a person who can do nothing right. Well, he was only right about one thing....I AM small, BUT...and that's a huge BUT....GOD IS NOT SMALL!!! God is bigger than my circumstance....and I forgot that for a little while. I was lied to...and I believed it. And instead of going into my Bible to find the answers (which, by the way was part of the Bible study...that I missed) I looked into my own resources and ways to fix things on my own. I was quickly defeated and turned to fear and worry and felt incredibly helpless.....
Not to go into a lot of detail about what's going on in my life...cause I'm not one of those people who aires their issues over the internet...but in my life "when it rains it pours" and when things begin to pour down on you all at once you sorta feel a little like "what did I do to deserve this?" Anyway, I have found out (not that this is a new concept) that in order to deal with issues before they happen, you have to be in the Word and you have to realize that God is faithful. He is FAITHFUL. You see, He never left me! I took my eyes off of Him. I looked around and saw the waves.... and they were BIG...and I got scared. So I ran (or began to tread water), but instead of running to arms of my Savior (or calling out to Him to lift me from the sinking water around me), I ran (tread even harder with no result) somewhere else...to my "fix-it" ideas....and that's not a good place to be. I can do NO THING apart from my God. What makes me think I can get away with fixing my LIFE? I mean, seriously? I know I've had this conversation with many of my friends and I have been encouraged that I'm not alone.
Let me encourage those of you out there that read this....don't try to tread water. If Jesus calls you out of the boat and into the waves, don't let your eyes come off Him for even one split second. The world's issues and trials are too much for us to handle on our own. That's why God says, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Heb 13:5 He will NOT, He will not, He will not let us down, leave us in the lurch, leave us destitute, leave us in straits and helpless, or abandon us. NO, NOT, NEVER!! AMEN!
Anyway, I'll just dive right in, I suppose....
I have always said that I identify the most with the apostle Peter. Have you ever thought about Peter? He is the disciple in the Bible who was always so quick to profess Jesus as his Lord and then turn around and doubt every single thing about what he believed. He had what everyone calls "foot in mouth disease". Constantly saying, "Lord, you are the Messiah!" Then turning around and saying, "I don't know Him." And then, there's the time that he said, "Let me walk on the water with you, Lord." So he got out of the boat and let all the waves overtake him and then cried out for help. What was he afraid of? I mean, for reals? Jesus was right there...in fact He
Now, I'm going into all this story to say this....I have let the waves overtake me this week. The cares of life. The daily struggles. The same stuff everyone else deals with every. single. day. I have been sinking this past week.
I guess what I should have said is this: My ladies Bible study group has been going through a study called "Stronger" by Angela Thomas. It's all about the power of God Almighty and how He is truly bigger than my struggles and my stress and my anxiety and my issues. Well, everything I needed to hear about that study last week was out the window. I missed it...Know why? Cause I let Satan, the Father of all lies, tell me that my life and circumstances were too big for me to handle...that I needed to worry about it...but what could I do? I mean I'm this little, measly, insignificant little speck of a person who can do nothing right. Well, he was only right about one thing....I AM small, BUT...and that's a huge BUT....GOD IS NOT SMALL!!! God is bigger than my circumstance....and I forgot that for a little while. I was lied to...and I believed it. And instead of going into my Bible to find the answers (which, by the way was part of the Bible study...that I missed) I looked into my own resources and ways to fix things on my own. I was quickly defeated and turned to fear and worry and felt incredibly helpless.....
Not to go into a lot of detail about what's going on in my life...cause I'm not one of those people who aires their issues over the internet...but in my life "when it rains it pours" and when things begin to pour down on you all at once you sorta feel a little like "what did I do to deserve this?" Anyway, I have found out (not that this is a new concept) that in order to deal with issues before they happen, you have to be in the Word and you have to realize that God is faithful. He is FAITHFUL. You see, He never left me! I took my eyes off of Him. I looked around and saw the waves.... and they were BIG...and I got scared. So I ran (or began to tread water), but instead of running to arms of my Savior (or calling out to Him to lift me from the sinking water around me), I ran (tread even harder with no result) somewhere else...to my "fix-it" ideas....and that's not a good place to be. I can do NO THING apart from my God. What makes me think I can get away with fixing my LIFE? I mean, seriously? I know I've had this conversation with many of my friends and I have been encouraged that I'm not alone.
Let me encourage those of you out there that read this....don't try to tread water. If Jesus calls you out of the boat and into the waves, don't let your eyes come off Him for even one split second. The world's issues and trials are too much for us to handle on our own. That's why God says, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Heb 13:5 He will NOT, He will not, He will not let us down, leave us in the lurch, leave us destitute, leave us in straits and helpless, or abandon us. NO, NOT, NEVER!! AMEN!
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