Tag: control

Power

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Power

We sit and wait with no control over anything happening around us. With no power and an uncertainty when it will come back, all we can do is ride it out and pray. We often take the simplest prayers for granted just saying we know God is in control, we respect that power, and we humble ourselves submitting all of our grief and anxieties upon the Lord. We cannot allow ourselves to be consumed with worries in situations far beyond our control. As over 321,000 people are without power in North Carolina, all we can do now is pray people were prepared and trust in God’s will. Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it. The sun is slowly rising and light now awakes the world around me. The light is a warm comfort, still as the wind howls in the rainless skies. It’s not fear, or apprehension that floods the house, it’s almost a boredom with nothing but silence to listen to.

This quiet time had given me the opportunity to turn to God and pray and have a conversation with my Heavenly Father. I’ve been so busy with school and everything I feel I haven’t been praying as much as I should. It’s truly interesting how obligations and life can so quickly and easily interfere with relations with Jesus. Shame on me for not praying as often as I should. Time is something we don’t have control over, but we do have control over how we use it. I hear so many say, I haven’t had the time, or I’ve been so busy. Time with God should never be one of those things we let slip us by.

So in closing, obviously with no power I want to keep this brief, pray for those affected by Flo. Pray for the floods, the wind, those in its wake. Pray for peace in the midst of the storm. God is still in control, and that we can count on. Be safe, be well.

Gods still in control, God will stand

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Gods still in control, God will stand

We see the world around us and we come to conclusions. Everywhere we look we see a world full of hate, anger, mistrust, pain, and suffering, but it’s in those events we see the world through the eyes of someone who’s life has created a particular opinionated vantage point. The life we live is not by chance, but by design. God gives us our life and pushes us with intent to give us a good life. There are a lot of reasons why bad things happen, but above all things, God is in control.

We live in a world that right now feels like it’s falling apart. We see rioting in the streets and we see death and war on the news every day. Even as we speak Houston Texas is under water and thousands of lives are displaced and as those lives will never be the same. With the world as it is, we must remember that no matter who is president, no matter what our elected officials do, we must know that God is still on the throne, God is still in control, and we must learn to have faith even when the walls are crumbling down, when the rain is falling on our heads, and when we feel like we can’t carry on, God is in control.

Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

No matter how deeply we struggle with our worries, and our anxiety, we must remember that our lives while they are our own from free will, we don’t have to travel down the road God wants for us. One way or another God’s will, will be done, and we can either do it the easy way or the hard way. “What has happened to a nation that used to fear the Lord, to a people who’s foundation was built upon God’s word. We’ve aloud the worlds opinion to chart a different way, but it’s time the Church of Jesus Christ should boldly stand and say. GODS WORD WILL STAND, AGAINST THE RAGING TIDE, AGAINST THOSE WHO CRITISIZE, AND WORK THEIR EVIL PLANS, GODS WORLD WILL STAND AGAINST THE GATES OF HELL, WITH POWER TO PREVAIL, IN THE HEARTS OF MAN, GODS WORD WILL STAND. They can take it from the courthouse walls, remove it from the schools, teach our children that we are animals, speak against the golden rule, try and hide our Christian heritage from the public eye, but they will never overcome Gods word no matter how they try!” (God’s word will stand, The Inspirations)

No matter where we are, the horrible or the great things that happens, God is still and always sitting on the throne. We must remember to have faith in our times of need, and thank God for being sovereign no matter when. Today, tomorrow, and always, God is God and we are nothing without Him.

 

When it Rains it Pours (Finding Gods Grace)

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When it Rains it Pours (Findings Gods Grace)

So let me tell you about my month. It started off much like every other month, same old routine, going to work, coming home, taking care of the fur creatures I call my kids, cleaning, and trying to relax when possible. Without going to into detail as the why, the how, the when, all those other W’s, safe to say I felt a little like Job and Paul combined. In a month I was put in a place that was pretty horrible, lost my position, gave up a great deal, was put through an awful lot of mental and emotional stress. My car was damaged, and then had a major issue with mice, yes I said mice, (I live in the country) Then once I finally thought I was going to get my car back, another problem popped up, thankfully of the very few things left under warranty the thermostat was.

Every step of the way God has not let me sink under the weight of the world. With insurmountable odds financially, emotionally, and even at times physically, I have had so much negativity in my life over the last several weeks, it was hard to see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel. As it seemed that my situation would go from bad, to really bad, to holy crap bad, to My God My God why have you forsaken me. But as I kept praying, kept the faith, I never asked God why these things were happening to me? The important thing in our walk with faith is the understand that not only will we have storms from time to time, but the occasional hurricane as well. As some areas of the world are constantly hit with monsoons they know and expect the rains to come and not let up for months. Is our walk with Christ any different?

No matter how bad things got, today of all days I would see the light at the end of the tunnel. With a settlement of $365 to move forward freely in life that would be a small price to pay to have things finally go my way. But the challenge would remain, where would I get that? A guardian angel would have it in my account within 10 minutes. Then my car, with everything that went wrong the tires (being slashed) the fuel coil being damaged, then the thermostat going out, all at the same time, it seems that a lot of Jesus came my way because it looks like at most, if anything at all, I’ll have to pay $200. Not too bad considering everything that was wrong, and that’s not a sure bet right now. The important thing is the bills will miraculously get paid, the car is now fixed and ready for the long trip to Texas, it seems that many of the other obstacles I had are now behind me.

I’m not saying it’s time for open calm seas, but I’m saying God is Great. Just when it seems that the problems I would face would be more then I could manage, God as always arrives precisely when He means to and takes away the burdens quicker then they arrived.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” In this we do not know or understand that God will be watching over us always. It’s a difficult concept for our puny little human brains to wrap our heads around. No matter the folly in our hearts, our spirit should always be lifted by the Lord on high.

Lamentations 3:25-26 “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” It may not happen when we want or when we think it should, but the good of Gods graces come when the time is right. We must learn to quiet ourselves and understand it’s beyond us. We always want to be in control, but we aren’t in control of much. If we think about it, we aren’t much different then Bane and John Daggett from Dark Knight Rises. Daggett is upset that things haven’t gone according to the plan. Or, was it the plan? It was his plan and he didn’t like it when it didn’t go his way.

“Bane: Our plan is proceeding as expected.

John Daggett: Oh really? Do *I* look like I’m running Wayne Enterprises right now? Your hit, on the stock exchange, it didn’t work, my friend! And now you have my construction crews going around the city at 24 hours a day! How exactly is that supposed to help my company absorb Wayne’s?

Bane: [to Stryver] Leave us!

John Daggett: No! You stay here, I’m in charge!

Bane: [puts his hand on Daggett’s shoulder] Do you *feel* in charge?”

Don’t we all feel that way? Isn’t it funny when God more or less asks us the same thing? Do we really feel in charge of our lives? Of course not, and when we really feel the world spinning out of control, that’s because we feel we’ve lost that edge, that purpose or place, our power. Just remember who has all the power. It’s certainly not me. If you think you have legitimate power, you might want to rethink things.

Sometimes we just need to let it go and give up our worries and concerns to God. Do our best to take it one day at a time, handle what we can, but believe that God’s in control.

When you can’t see the Forest through the Trees

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When you can’t see the Forest through the Trees

What does it mean ‘can’t see the forest through the trees?’ It means that sometimes you’re so caught up, so close to a situation you are incapable of seeing the big picture. When we are in the middle of our own life’s situations, when we are in the battles deep in the trenches, often times all we can see is the step right in front of us. So if that’s the case, how do we learn to take a step back and see the big picture? How do we wrestle with our own desire to remain in control? What are the simple rules of survival when lost in the woods? Today we’ll explore that together.

1 Corinthians 13:12 “12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” We grow and as we grow we change. The forest grows with no help from us. It doesn’t worry about the trees next to it or the birds that use it to perch their nests, no it simply exists. When we look at our lives as a whole we often are consumed with the ‘Fog of War’, unable to see the big picture due to the biased nature of our lives. We must learn to take a step back, climb the tree to see over the tree tops, find anyway we can to understand that in order to make a Godly decision we must first look at any situation that we may face, and try to look objectively, look reasonably, and try to understand the path God wants for us. Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” When we listen to Gods will our path will be a blessed one. It won’t be without hardships, but we need to be tested, our faith must be made strong. Ecclesiastes 3:6 “A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;” No matter what season we find ourselves we must understand that worrying about what we don’t have control over will never help us figure out our path.

When lost in the woods the first thing most people do is panic. When we panic we expel more energy then if we remain calm and work it out rationally. When lost you must find shelter, find water, and find food. It’s never easy to accept we may be lost. When that moment hits you and you can’t breath, you can’t think straight, you can’t see your own thoughts clearly, that’s when we know we are in the middle of the woods. We can’t panic when the forest gets thick. We must learn to have faith in God. Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” We have to keep the faith. When we are lost, God will show us the way. Psalm 25:16-17 “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.” Have faith in the Lord to guide you. When lost in the woods and you cannot see your way out, and allow God to help you see your path. Keep the faith and keep your compass.

It’s not for our own understanding as to why our suffering occurs but when it does don’t loose yourself to the anguish. You are not in control and that’s an important fact to realize. We are in control of our own actions and how we handle our choices. Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God will, will be done. One way or another, we will deal with our situations. Stop and pray that God will help get out of the wilderness. Isaiah 40:3-5 “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Survival is about preparing; it’s about planning for the worst and knowing how to do that. God has given us the compass to see our way out of the woods and back to open prairies. Don’t let yourself get caught in the forest without the map. Shoot your azimuth and follow your direction north.