Give Your Troubles to God
The Book of Psalm is full of crying out to God and venting frustrations and just letting God know you heart. In Psalm 120:1 we are told that the writer (possibly David or another- do some research) took their troubles to God, first. If you read through Psalm 119:169-176 we see that these troubles consisted of straying away from God and wanting to know God on a deeper level. But, first the troubles were taken to God. That takes wisdom to know to whom to turn. It also takes humility to not try and "fix it." The writer "cried out to Him" which is an expression of the writer's despair. If you don't talk to God, then how do you express to God what you feel and what you want? Simply, you don't. And finally God answered the prayer. But what prayer was it? If you read the through Psalm 119 again and see the problems that were spoken then you see that they were in line with what God wanted for them and for us.
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You Are Wonderfully Made
Do you know that verse Psalm 139:14 about being wonderfully made? It is a verse that I personally need to look back on and remember when I feel down or low or unhappy about life. I can feel empty emotionally or even relationally and forget that when people let me down (for whatever reason) that God still loves me and I am important to Him.
The verse starts off with "I praise You" which indicates the writer being thankful to God. It is not a sarcastic way of expression like Paul did with the churches when he wrote them letters. But a heart felt praising. When you go through a rough time (and we all have had them) thank God afterwards when it is over. Praise Him for the little things. One little thing I love to praise God for is a parking good spot in my neighborhood. That may sound silly, but if you cannot thank God in the small, how will you even see Him in the bigger things? He is always working for you and to show you how you can be thankful. I have been through some tough times and can see God's hand in those times and for that I praise Him.
Next the psalmist writes "for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." I can figure out what wonderfully made can mean, but what about fearfully? Well, that means having a "fear" of God. I don't mean fear like the fear we have of wild animals but a respectful fear, like what one might have for a parent. To know that you are made to respect God and that God made you wonderful shows how the Lord wants you to honor Him for what He does and what He did.
And lastly, "Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." Acknowledge that you know what God Has done, whether it is large or small, acknowledge God. Imagine if someone bought you a house as a gift and you never thanked them for it. That may sound silly, but throw that same ideology onto God who we know has us fearfully and wonderfully made. How insane is it to not acknowledge God for that? Humble yourself and stop taking credit for everything and acknowledge the work God has done.
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Just Because You Can....
I'm sure you have heard of that saying "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." We can apply that saying to so many different areas of our life, but there is one area it needs to apply to. It needs to apply to our walk with Christ. In Christ we have freedom from condemnation and from the death of sin (death in connection to God), but that does not mean that just because we can seek forgiveness we should just go and sin anyway? I was confronted a couple of different times by an atheist and by an agnostic and they both said that since I can be forgiven by God, I should just go an sin intentionally or else I am wasting what Christ did on the cross. Wow. Seriously? What a ridiculous statement.
First,
I needed new people to hang out with. I needed new people to hang out
with and as a Christ follower, I needed to be around other Christ
following men. That didn't mean that I no longer spoke to those guys,
but I need men in my corner who also follow Christ. If we look at
Proverbs (great book) but specifically the wisdom contained within
Proverbs
13:20, then we see we need to be around those who are wise. Not
so much worldly wise, but also wise in the Holy Spirit so that he can
assist me in my growth and I can assist him as well. If I am attacked
by a man (or sin in this case) a brother in Christ can help me up if
I fall and stand with me as we fight with the Holy Spirit against
Satan's temptations (Ecclesiastes
4:12).
Man
understands things a certain way and outside of the Holy Spirit they
will not know what God has for them in life. Proverbs
14:12
tells us people think a certain way and think it is okay, yet they
have no idea that death is inevitable in that way. Maybe you are so
accustomed to being isolated. In isolation, no one can keep you
accountable about the sinful ways that you succumb to. No one can
love you in isolation. No one can hold you in isolation. While
isolation may seem like it is "drama free" it is also void
of love, accountability and growth. Just because it seems okay for
you doesn't mean that God wants that for you.
A
common thing I see is people who control others. They are always
taking charge and always the boss. If they don't get their way they
become the take my ball and go home type or the "it's my way or
the highway." Not everyone, but there are those that feel like
they should control what is going on. Why? It seems right to do so,
but why? Is it a lack of faith in others to do their part? Is it to
hard to trust others? Or maybe the faith that God isn't going to
provide you with what you need? If we read the word we know that God
provides for those doing His will (Philippians
4:19). It doesn't mean life will be perfect. There will be some
bumps. That's life. But just because you are comfortable controlling
everything doesn't mean that is how it needs to be or even what God
wants from you. If you aren't asking for His guidance before and
during a task, then that is part of the problem (Psalm
32:8). You need to submit to God's will and let Him show you what
it is that needs to be done. Not just on the surface, but also on the
inside of you. Your spirit is important and it needs to be in
conjunction with God's will.
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To Each His Own
I
am sure all of us, if not many of us, have heard of the saying "to each
his own." The original usage of that phrase in English dates back to
the 1500's. The phrase was evolved from the Latin phrase/motto "suum cuique" which meant "to each his own; to each what rightfully belongs to him." Even older roots date back to Greek language during the BC times (read more here).
Those contexts dealt with justice and people minding their own
business. But is that how we feel about sharing the word of God and the
life of Jesus?
In
regard to sharing scripture with others, or the life of Jesus, many
people feel like they don't want to infringe upon the way other people
think, believe, act and live. I am not saying we need to force God and
Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the Trinity on people. Forcing people to
listen would be exactly the opposite of what Jesus taught. Jesus
defended his position when confronted and challenged, but he also
shared. When he was young her inquired from the teachers. When he was
older he lead the disciples. Before he ascending into Heaven he gave the
disciples a command to "go and make disciples of all the nations."
We can share the word of God. We can share the life of Jesus. We can share our testimony and how we came to know Jesus and follow him. We can share how we rely on God's perfect strength rather than our own imperfect selves (see Psalm 9:9).
We share idea on everything else from the types of music we like and the movies we love. We share recipes, and workout routines. We share time with people and that is where we can recognize the opportunity to share Jesus. Share out of love for God and love for others.
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