Day Two: Thinking...
Psalm 115:3
"Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him."
My favorite definition of sovereign is defined as "being above all others in character, importance, excellence, etc." That is God. He is Sovereign. He is above all. He is the end all. So as I was driving to work this morning I began thinking of how Sovereign our God is. Then as the drive progressed I began to think of things in my life that hurt me to my very core. During a recent and ongoing season in my life I remember telling a close friend that I was having a hard time understanding God's plan from Satan's tactics in my life. That if everything comes from God and it is to bring Him glory and is for the greater good, than why does it has to hurt so badly? Why is Satan able to take hold of us and toss us around like Raggedy Anne or Andy?
Even our pain is a part of God's plan. Satan might attack our thoughts, but it's how we look at it that truly defines it all. Satan maybe able to get into our thoughts but he is not the cause of what has happened in our lives that has resulted in pain. God is. Wow... God has let us feel pain and suffering. It's hard to swallow sometimes because we all know God is a loving and good God.
I sit back and think sometimes:
"Why did I have to go through that break-up?"
"Why did I have to lose my job?"
"Why did my best friend have to pass away from cancer? She was only 19."
"Why, why why?"
God's plan is good. God has to bring us through valleys so we can see the mountains. But the way Satan gets to us is through our thoughts.
"Why would a loving God let you go through this break-up when everything seemed to be perfect?"
"Why would a compassionate God who knows you inside and out take way your stability of a job?"
"Why would a loving and healing God let your best friend pass away and not survive cancer when she could be cured?"
I remember saying those thoughts aloud. We can ask those questions. We are all human. We all fail at understanding God's amazing plan when we come under fire of a difficult time. But it is how we rise above it all that matters.
Take Job. Job was a man that feared God and shunned evil. We was upright and blameless. God had blessed him, his family, his household and his flocks. Satan then came in front of the Lord and told Him that if He took away everything Job had that he would surely curse the Lord. The Lord allowed Satan to have his way with Job. His herds were killed, his servants were killed and his sons and daughters were killed. And what did Job do? Job shaved his head, tore off his clothes, fell to his knees and did what... PRAISED THE LORD! Job did not have a pity party. Job did not ask God why. Job did not curse the name of the Lord for everything that had happened. Job said in Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the NAME OF THE LORD BE PRAISED" (Caps are mine).
I have asked God why. I have questioned why things were happening the way they were. I have asked God for a short period of time where everything is just falling into place. But I also would never trade any valley in my life. I do not regret anything that has happen in my life. I do not regret the abuse that I suffered. I do not regret the heartbreak that I have gone through. I do not regret losing my job. I do not regret words that I did not get a chance to say to someone before they departed this earth. It has taken time, prayer and patience to be able to learn to lean on God's Sovereignty and not regret the things that have gone wrong in my life. They were all in God's plan for me. I am able to stand here and be upright. They have allowed me to be able to tell you this story. To be able to share with you my pain and to show you where God has brought me from it all. To show you how God has taken me from my knees and is walking with me every moment of my life.
God wants us to be close to Him. To follow Him. To keeps our eyes and our hearts solely focused on him and not of the things in this world. It is much easier said than done I can tell you that. The world is always around us. We are always thinking and sometimes letting our thoughts control the way we approach a situation instead of how Jesus would approach the same situation. We have to learn to stop and think first. What's the phrase, "Think before you speak."? If we don't do that we are coming from the flesh and not from God. If we do then we are able to think how a son or daughter of Christ would go forward.
That is my challenge for you. Go back to the old phrase and put the bracelet back on. "WWJD: What Would Jesus Do?"
In Him and For His glory!
"Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him."
My favorite definition of sovereign is defined as "being above all others in character, importance, excellence, etc." That is God. He is Sovereign. He is above all. He is the end all. So as I was driving to work this morning I began thinking of how Sovereign our God is. Then as the drive progressed I began to think of things in my life that hurt me to my very core. During a recent and ongoing season in my life I remember telling a close friend that I was having a hard time understanding God's plan from Satan's tactics in my life. That if everything comes from God and it is to bring Him glory and is for the greater good, than why does it has to hurt so badly? Why is Satan able to take hold of us and toss us around like Raggedy Anne or Andy?
Even our pain is a part of God's plan. Satan might attack our thoughts, but it's how we look at it that truly defines it all. Satan maybe able to get into our thoughts but he is not the cause of what has happened in our lives that has resulted in pain. God is. Wow... God has let us feel pain and suffering. It's hard to swallow sometimes because we all know God is a loving and good God.
I sit back and think sometimes:
"Why did I have to go through that break-up?"
"Why did I have to lose my job?"
"Why did my best friend have to pass away from cancer? She was only 19."
"Why, why why?"
God's plan is good. God has to bring us through valleys so we can see the mountains. But the way Satan gets to us is through our thoughts.
"Why would a loving God let you go through this break-up when everything seemed to be perfect?"
"Why would a compassionate God who knows you inside and out take way your stability of a job?"
"Why would a loving and healing God let your best friend pass away and not survive cancer when she could be cured?"
I remember saying those thoughts aloud. We can ask those questions. We are all human. We all fail at understanding God's amazing plan when we come under fire of a difficult time. But it is how we rise above it all that matters.
Take Job. Job was a man that feared God and shunned evil. We was upright and blameless. God had blessed him, his family, his household and his flocks. Satan then came in front of the Lord and told Him that if He took away everything Job had that he would surely curse the Lord. The Lord allowed Satan to have his way with Job. His herds were killed, his servants were killed and his sons and daughters were killed. And what did Job do? Job shaved his head, tore off his clothes, fell to his knees and did what... PRAISED THE LORD! Job did not have a pity party. Job did not ask God why. Job did not curse the name of the Lord for everything that had happened. Job said in Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the NAME OF THE LORD BE PRAISED" (Caps are mine).
I have asked God why. I have questioned why things were happening the way they were. I have asked God for a short period of time where everything is just falling into place. But I also would never trade any valley in my life. I do not regret anything that has happen in my life. I do not regret the abuse that I suffered. I do not regret the heartbreak that I have gone through. I do not regret losing my job. I do not regret words that I did not get a chance to say to someone before they departed this earth. It has taken time, prayer and patience to be able to learn to lean on God's Sovereignty and not regret the things that have gone wrong in my life. They were all in God's plan for me. I am able to stand here and be upright. They have allowed me to be able to tell you this story. To be able to share with you my pain and to show you where God has brought me from it all. To show you how God has taken me from my knees and is walking with me every moment of my life.
God wants us to be close to Him. To follow Him. To keeps our eyes and our hearts solely focused on him and not of the things in this world. It is much easier said than done I can tell you that. The world is always around us. We are always thinking and sometimes letting our thoughts control the way we approach a situation instead of how Jesus would approach the same situation. We have to learn to stop and think first. What's the phrase, "Think before you speak."? If we don't do that we are coming from the flesh and not from God. If we do then we are able to think how a son or daughter of Christ would go forward.
That is my challenge for you. Go back to the old phrase and put the bracelet back on. "WWJD: What Would Jesus Do?"
In Him and For His glory!
Comments
Post a Comment