Knowing When to let go and let God

We all have a lot of growing up to do. It does not matter how old or how young we are, we still have things to learn. When we follow our own rules, that learning process is longer and harder than it would be if we followed God rules. We make big things out of nothing, and we make big things into smaller pieces. We may not realize it at the time, but when we try to compromise and explain away our actions, we tend to end up in a place that is not meant for anyone. Life is what we make it. My life is not molded by the works of others. It is not crafted to be used as an instrument to hurt others. My life has a far better and greater purpose than that. I have often wondered how people can disregard the feelings of others. How can people be so selfish and not care about the needs of others? I realize that people are just that. People! We can not change them. We can not impose our will on them. We can not make them to anything they are not willing to do. It will come a time in every one's life, when they have to make the decision to be of the world or be of God. This decision will separate the men from the boys. It does not matter how much money you make in a year. It does not matter how big your house is or how many cars you have. You can not take any of those things with you, when you die. I have learned that material things do not make me happy. They are just things, and things can be replaced. Love is something that we all need. Love is not a word. Love is an action. When you find someone telling you they love you all of the time, they are usually not showing you that love. They think that saying 'I love you' will make everything OK, but it does not. Love is showing someone how you feel about them. It is proving to that person that you have respect, gratitude, and an affection for them that goes beyond words. I can tell you I am an astronaut. I can tell you I am the most giving person that you will ever meet. These are just words. For you to believe me, I need to show proof of these things. We tend to allow words to compensate for our lack of work. Love is something we need to see and feel. It is concrete. Love is the most precious of all things that we can have for one another. To truly love someone you have to give up yourself. You have to put aside selfishness and vanity. You have to be humble and know that regardless of how a person makes you feel, you still have the obligation to love them anyway. You may not like what their ways, but you still have to love them. You have to show them that you love them. Ask yourself, 'If tomorrow never comes, will my loved ones know how much I love them'?  We think we know who we are. We think we know what we are capable of. We think we know what is best for us and everyone else. How foolish are we to think like this? How foolish are we to think we can bend someone else to be the way we want them to be. Our will is just that. It's ours! No one else!! From the moment we decide that what we want and what we feel is more important than the next person, it is at this moment that we fail. In life, you have to know when to let go and let God. There are many, many things that are beyond our control. There are things that we are not equipped to handle. It is during these times that we have to acknowledge we are too weak and too fragile to lift things that are too heavy for us.

Keeping The Faith Through Times of Despair

We often tell ourselves and others that if you are going through difficult times, we just need to keep the faith. If there is anyone out there like me, you know how hard that can be. But, nevertheless, it can be done. When you feel like you have given your all and you have nothing else left, that's when you realize you have to give more of yourself into your faith. You have to pour out your heart to Jesus and allow Him to work through you. You have to be willing to go through something in order to gain. You never lose yourself. You never lose your integrity. You never lose faith. If you ask Jesus for guidance, know that He will deliver. If you ask Him for peace, know that He will comfort you. Matthew 21:22 says, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive".  
We have to understand that when we ask Jesus for something, we have to be willing to do what He asks of us. Jesus asks us to love one another, to be kind to others, to help others, to minister God's word to others. We as Christians need to understand that we don't know everything. We need a helping hand from others. We need to feel kindness from others. We need other Christians to minister to us. An angel came down from heaven and ministered to Jesus in the wilderness. Who are we to think we don't need it as well? We find faults in others, when they've hurt us. But, when do we find the faults within ourselves? We have to acknowledge our faults before we can expect anything to be done about our situation. Hiding behind a curtain with holes does little to conceal us. We have to be honest with ourselves about who we are and how we came to be in the predicament we now find ourselves in. It's not because of someone else. It's because of us. We did this. We are the ones who have to change our perspective on our life in other to get things back on the right track. The question is how. How do you climb out of a deep hole? How do you find the strength to keep going? How do you keep from giving up?  YOU KEEP THE FAITH!
You pray and keep looking up. You pray and fast. You pray and open your heart to allow Jesus to guide you. You pray and give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done and all that He is about to do in your life. You pray and sing. You pray and believe in Jesus. You pray and know that whatever decision He makes for you is the right one. You pray and be glad. You pray and be sustained by His Grace. You pray and keep your mind stayed on Jesus. You pray and seek His face. You pray and stay humble. You pray without ceasing. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and will heal their land".   God tells us exactly what to do. We just have to listen and obey.
After all, doing things our way is what landed us in that deep hole.


Scripture for the day, Colossians 3:23, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men".