Am I the only one? Life seems so out of control at the moment! Something that appears so easy to do becomes so complicated! Well, let's see - I may have done something wrong, start over again, get more advice, make another list; all to no avail. Frustration builds and I want to cry out, Lord, where are you?
We're coming into my favorite season, fall. I think it is about 85 degrees today near the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. It's been a hot summer. I don't like hot.
I honestly don't know how people who are not Christians can cope in this stressful and frustrating world. How do they do it? It's only when I recognize who really is in charge that I can relax and know that whatever I try to make happen on my own will result in frustration if it's not in God's plan. And He knows what is right for me. Here's the thing; I have to learn this over and over again! Often it is harder to hold on to the truth of the Bible than it is the lies of the world. Satan reigns in this world and he's so hard to fight off. In fact, you can't unless you know the Word of God. This is my weapon, my only weapon. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6. . .
"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...Stand firm...take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Have you noticed that the Lord sends out little encouragements when you feel hopeless and discouraged? Last night I was overwhelmed with problems, everything from losing my credit card (I found it), to a mold problem and a huge expense to fix it. Our daughter sent a text with a photo. She said she was at a party in downtown Los Angeles and took a photo of a building with huge red letters. She wondered if I could read it. I could, it said. . .JESUS SAVES. Oh yes, I thought, He saves us from all that disables us, causes us to be depressed and sprinkles us with hope.
We were blessed at church this morning to have a guest speaker, Kim Dolan Leto. She's a beautiful youngish woman, full of energy and grace. She was a model at one time, and had that 'perfect' body and beautiful face. I wasn't jealous, not one bit because I know that God designed me for His own good purpose. Kim lives in Arizona, is a national speaker and Executive Director of F.I.T. - Faith Inspired Transformation. She has a book available and I bought one for both of our daughters. She was transformed by Jesus and wants to tell everyone.
Kim admitted that she was saved by "good looks", then explained that she got a good look at the Bible, which gave her a good look at God and a good look at Jesus Christ, her Savior. She mentioned that if we don't know the Word of God, we have nothing to fight with, and the world will tear us up. We were created on purpose for a purpose. What we fear controls us. What we worry about consumes us. She mentioned "go to" verses, most of them were already mine.
Ephesians 3:20 for instance. I remember the first time God opened my mind to what this said - God is able and powerful and He can do more than we even thought to ask Him for! I've seen this in my life, so many times; God's power working in ways I never asked for or expected.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
We have the problem of looking at the detours and bumps in the road, rather than at God's promises. Know that God has put dreams in our hearts and when we put our faith completely in Him we'll watch these dreams come true. Maybe they won't unfold in the way the world would have it, but they will come to pass in God's time and in His way, better than we ever thought! The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:31. . .
"If God is for us, who can be against us?" "No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." vs. 37
Men like to conquer, women not so much, but we do want to succeed and have peace and joy in our lives. Live like who you are; a child of God chosen from the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4) to be loved, saved and made whole in every way. Don't count on yourself to get it all together. Self-help books are the biggest category of sales. Really, books are nice, I have a house full, but I only need one self help book, the Bible.
Thank you Lord for Kim's wonderful message this morning. I'm so glad I was there to hear it. Help us all to know our dreams that come to fruition come from you, and when you began a good work in us, You will complete it. Philipians 1:6
