Psalms 77:13-14 – Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God. 14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou has declared thy strength among the people.
With God’s help today, I invite you to think outside the box, just for a moment, and ponder the thought that your emotional pain and frustration may actually be your friend. The overwhelming pain you have been relentlessly suffering due to circumstances seemingly beyond your control probably have deep and loving messages attached. God often uses the trials and tribulations we endure in our spiritual journey to draw us closer to Him. He wants us to trust Him more, love Him more intimately, and fellowship with Him without reservation. 1 Peter 5:6-7 – Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. So often we are so burdened and so weary, so distracted by the cares of this world, but that is exactly where God is waiting to meet us. He’s right there with you in the fire awaiting your cry for help. He’s carrying you through the flood, holding your head up when you no longer can. And His words to you are to cast it all on Him. He is able to handle it when we don’t know the way anymore and have not the strength to bear it any longer.
I read this short paragraph by Oswald Chambers and was struck by the absolute truthfulness of the statement, as if God sent a personal word. He says “It is not so true that “prayer changes things” as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man’s disposition”.- Oswald Chambers. And there it is – truth in its most basic form. For our God does not always come when we call and change our circumstances. In His most loving way and with great tenderness and compassion on us, there are times when He is not out to change things for us but to change the heart and mind in us. When our hearts are broken and calling out to Him in desperation and what we receive seems to be silence, we must think again. 1 Peter 4:19 – Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Let this stir your soul, dear ones, and open your heart to His wisdom, His will and His way. For what He chooses for us is ultimately, infinitely better, exceedingly more powerful, and certainly more lasting and beneficial than things we would choose for ourselves.
Think of recurring issues in life that continue to bring us pain and distract us from all the things we could be enjoying. Would it not be more beneficial to allow God to change how we perceive life, situations, and people? This change of heart, or change of mind, or change in perception doesn’t leave us open to the next problem to arise with our weaknesses still intact and thriving. No this change is inside of us, orchestrated by God, and completed by God. The divine wisdom has been received and with joy and a renewed passion we move on, to bigger conquests, greater victories. Yes, a change in our disposition will go a lot farther than a change in our external circumstances.
In a fast-food society, we want instant relief or we want it our way. But when God is involved it becomes evident our way leaves us needing more and more fixes, more and more help, and because of His involvement He usually allows us to come to that realization in His time frame and not ours. What great love for man that He would have so much patience with us when we usually have so little for Him. Isaiah 55:9&11 – For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Think on that for a moment. God doesn’t think like we do, He doesn’t act like we do, but He sends His word and accomplishes what He will, and what He wills will prosper in the situation and brokenness to which He sends it. Established in righteousness? With God it’s possible.
So think outside the box and get a glimpse today of just how big God really is, how great and precious are His promises. Let the painful circumstances in your life lead you to God who is ready to take you on, a special project of sorts, to rebuild, repair and ultimately restore you to all He created you to be. Make Jesus the Lord of your life today. Read His word and receive every bit of its inspiration and encouragement into your life and your circumstances. Set about to stay the course with God and live your life on His time schedule and not your own. If you want to learn and grow in the things of God His door is always open, His arms are there to welcome you, and the Holy Spirit will come alongside to comfort you. It’s a win-win deal but it can’t be rushed or dictated – only lived out to the ultimate until we all come into the fullness of Christ.
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