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One thing I have truly taken hold of, while walking down some dark and lonely paths of pain and heartache…is how much I truly need the power of God in my life…for without His power, we will never survive the blows that Satan throws our way.
When I was younger, I used to go to a Baptist church and even though I enjoyed the pastor’s sermons…something was missing and later I came to see that it was the power of God in my life. I had become so caught up in the religion, of the Baptist faith; that I never really focused on the power of God. In II Timothy 3:5, we read… “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Don’t we realize how much we need the power of God in our lives? Can religion counteract the fiery darts that come our way? Can religion be the cure, for whatever is ailing us? I have come to see; that when the power of God becomes the missing ingredient within our lives; then that makes us more vulnerable to the power of evil. There is one thing that I have truly come to see, in this verse above…and that is where it says…“Having a form of godliness.” In other words…religion becomes that form of godliness and before we know it; we begin to worship and follow after the rules of religion, rather than God. The thing we need to take hold of today; is that religion won’t save us…only the power that is contained, within Jesus…God’s only Son…the One who died for our sins…and when we choose to follow after a form of godliness…above a true and living God; then we find that we have denied the only form of power that can free us from the difficulties of this life. No matter what we face...let’s face it…we need a power that is much high and greater, than the so-called power that comes from evil…and the only way we are going to obtain that power; is not through religion…but directly through Jesus Christ. When we truly learn to draw from a power that can supersede all things; that is when we will begin to see our circumstances fall powerless to the ground! Isn’t it amazing…the thoughts that can come into our minds, while walking through some very trying times in our lives? These thoughts have a way of convincing us that we are alone and will never come through the moments that are still awaiting us; but in Deuteronomy 31:6, we read…“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
You know…I think that all we need to do, while facing these negative thoughts; is to get our thoughts buried in God’s word. When the problem is saying that we are too weak to make it through; God is encouraging us to be strong and of good courage. When the problem is leading us down a path of fear and doubt; God is letting us know that we don’t have to fear or be afraid of what is happening…and why…because He is not only with us; but He’s the One that goes before us; as a shield, to protect us and keep us safe, from the fiery darts that come our way. I think that one of the most difficult battles to walk through…is the battle of the mind. It seems as though we are always striving to keep our thoughts going in God’s direction…but isn’t it amazing how Satan can trip us up and make our problems seem much more out of control; then what they really are. Instead of focusing on where the problem may be leading us; we need to get into God’s word and let His truth not only free us; but lead us away from these deceptive thoughts. When we can read and take in God’s truth, rather than allowing a deceptive lie, to take us by the hand and walk us away from the peace and joy we once experienced; then we will soon find that God can truly give us the strength to overcome anything that is attempting to overcome us. Have you ever wondered why we lean on our own understanding? Here, we admit to God that we can’t figure out a problem or make it through a tough time in our life; but yet we continue to lean on our own weak self, rather than a strong God.
In Proverbs 3:5-6, we read…“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” One thing I have come to learn in my life; is to not lean on myself or a weak circumstance…because that will only lead me to a fall. During the difficult times of trial, we need two strong arms to hold us up and we need them to represent something strong…something that will keep us standing and above the weaknesses; that Satan is attempting to use against us, as a means of bringing us low. Many times in my own life, I have visualized God’s strong arms, as crutches of peace and strength to lean on…peace to sustain me during the hard times…and strength to keep me standing strong in Him. One thing I know for sure…and that is this; we will never make it through the struggles and challenges of this life, when we choose to lean on our own way of doing things. We must come to the realization that we just don’t have the wisdom on our own, to know how to handle these weaknesses that enter our lives; so we need to turn to the One who can show us the way…and that One is Jesus Christ! No matter what you are walking through today, just know that you don’t have to try and figure it out on your own. Remember…there is a God, who is greater in power, than any so-called power that stems from a weakness…and the power that is contained within this strong and mighty God; is greater than any stack of weaknesses that may attempt to control and take over our lives. Today…let’s turn to the One…whose understanding and wisdom can lead us away from these difficult moments of despair! I wonder why we choose to turn back to weakness and allow it to beat us up, rather than turning to the One, who has freed us through the cross. Why would we ever desire to live in a dark pit of despair, when we can live in the light of God’s presence? In Galatians 4:8-9, we read…“Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (9) But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”
Before we came to know Christ, we lived a life of slavery, to the problems that we faced at that time. There was no means of stepping out of our despair, to discover the kind of freedom that can only exist because of what Christ did for us on the cross…but now that we know Christ or are known by Him, why do we still choose to walk a step backwards into despair, rather than pressing on towards a place of freedom; that can only be found, by walking in the footsteps of Christ? We need to remember that we allow needless suffering to enter our lives, when we choose to listen to the thoughts that are being dictated by the problem. Do we realize that when we do this, then we are allowing the problem to put us in a prison cell, where the problem can constantly have control over us? Even when we make a mistake and turn back into this form of bondage; the hope we now live with; is that Christ has the key to our prison cell…a key that can unlock the door, to our prison cell of despair and free us. No matter if we make a wrong turn and end up down a detour road; Christ will always be there to direct us back to Him. All we need to do is to be willing to take our focus away from the place of bondage, rather than accepting it…and when we do this, then we will be able to focus on the One who can free us and give us a fresh new start. We can save ourselves a lot of heartache, when we allow our lives to remain closely connected with Christ. When there is a strong connection between His heart and ours; then nothing will be able to sever the connection or have control over our lives. When we choose to talk with Jesus, on a daily basis, rather than listening to the voice of our problems; then we will have a clear view of what’s ahead and we will once more be able to press on and experience the fullness of a great and mighty God! |
