John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled. You are trusting God, now trust in me."
Romans 15:13
So
I pray for you Gentiles that God who gives you hope will keep you happy
and full of peace as you believe in him. I pray that God will help you
overflow with hope in him through the Holy Spirit’s power within you.
Psalm 40:4
Many blessings are given to those who trust the Lord and have no confidence in those who are proud or who trust in idols.
John 6:29
Jesus told them, “This is the will of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.”
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
In the book One Thousand Gifts*,
author Ann Voskamp talks about standing in her laundry room one day and
staring out at the barn that housed their livelihood - pigs. The
market for the sale of swine had plummeted in Canada, and Voskamp
worried about how they would pay bills, feed their family...in short,
how they would survive. She relates how stressed she felt...and how
sad. Her husband tried to reassure her that all would be well, and she
desperately wanted to believe him. So she sought answers – and comfort -
in these scripture passages.
Voskamp realized that stress was
stealing her joy...and that when you drill it down, operating in stress
is really a sin. How so? When we allow stress, worry and fear to
overtake our thoughts, we fail to trust completely in God and His power
to “work things together for good”. We cannot be stressed and claim to
fully believe that God will heal us...that He can – and will – fix
things. As Voskamp puts it...”stress brings no joy.”
I read this
part of Voskamp’s book several times and let her thoughts and the
scriptures soak into my heart. I thought about “stressful” situations
in my life – and in the lives of others that I know and love. I looked
at the ways that God has seen many of us through seemingly impossible or
unbearable situations...different for each person, but alike in many
ways. I thought of the griefs, sadnesses, heartaches, illnesses,
injuries, disappointments, tests and trials that have come into all of
our lives. I considered the times when many of us were scared half to
death and couldn’t believe that things would ever be “right” again...how
a lot of us have wondered if we would ever know joy and peace again.
And to a person, I could not think of a single fellow believer that God
did not rescue and restore from these things.
Here’s the
deal...whatever you are “stressed” over today...wherever you are
worried, fearful, and uncertain...it’s time for you to move in a
different direction. Voskamp admits that operating in complete trust
involves work...that we have to work at remaining
intentional and focused on God and His power and ability to handle every
aspect of our lives. Trusting God to rescue, heal and restore us is
our primary job...our main purpose...our true “life’s work”.
It’s
time to shift gears...to examine where we are focused – what drives
us. If we find that we are in any way operating in stress, worry or
fear, we need a “makeover”. We may not be able to accomplish complete
success in a single day...but we have to start somewhere. So let’s
begin by studying these scripture verses and thanking God for His
gifts...Jesus Christ, unconditional love and care, healing, forgiveness,
joy and blessings.
Make a list of the ways that God has
blessed your life...the times that He has rescued or healed you...the
ways that He has brought about a positive outcome where all you saw was a
rotten mess! Thank Him...over and over...for His generosity, grace and
mercy. Then pledge to honor His commitment to you by giving Him your
full trust over a specific situation that is stressing you presently.
Each day, add another “stressor”...and continue giving God your worries
and burdens until you find yourself operating more and more in trust –
and joy – and less in the pointless, dead-end futility of stress.
God
has you in the palm of His hand...don’t you know that? When you gave
your heart to Jesus, you promised to honor His promises by giving Him
your full trust. God has held up His end of the bargain...isn’t it time you did the same?
©2014 Debbie Robus
* One Thousand Gifts ~ ©2010 Ann Morton Voskamp ~ One Zondervan Press ~ www.zondervan.com
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