Have you ever had one of those problematic situations where it looked utterly impossible to resolve or come up with a quick fix? It seems that sometimes life is pretty simple. Then other times trials torpedo and bomb us and all appears insuperably difficult. Hopelessness wants to be the temptation to take you down and place you in the pit of despair.
Living through the graduate degree program of endurance and perseverance is never easy. How do we handle stress appropriately during those dark days?
I have had a problem I have had to deal with that is continuing longer than I had ever expected. There is not a quick fix available. It is out of my control. I regret and admit it has held me captive.
But this is what I do know:
- Worrying will not solve the problem.
1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
Carrying around burdens, trials, and stresses of life, means I am not fully trusting God with my life. I need to not submit to the current state of affairs, but to the Almighty God who controls circumstances.
- Worrying will not shorten any predicament.
I have to fully trust that God has a plan and trust Him with the details. He knows the “how.”
- Worry competes with my faith in God’s ability to redeem right out of this bad situation.
Romans 8:28 always applies: “And we know that for those that love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
- Worrying sometimes is the result of feeling hurt from someone’s actions that have harmed us.
Romans 12:19: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Man’s impossibilities are God’s empowered possibilities. Hebrews 1:3b: “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
In Mark 6, the disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee. It was a life-threatening storm. Jesus walked on water and got into the boat with them. Jesus said: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded.” Mark 6:50b-51.
Jesus saw the problem the disciples were experiencing. He came to them. Jesus got into the boat and sat with them. He calmed the storm, and it stopped. He fixed their life’s threatening predicament and kept them safe. The disciples were, and I love that word: “astounded.”
When troubles arise in life, we look at our problems through magnifying lenses. They too often take over and dominate our thoughts, so our faith is stunted and weak, and that is just what the enemy is after. He wants to deflate us like a used balloon that has all of the air released from it. It then is of no use. It can’t be upright and serve its purpose.
Lions attack sick, young, and struggling animals. They search out victims that are alone and not alert.
Peter warns us in 1 Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith . . . “
James 4:7-8 is the next step: “Submit yourselves, therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
Therefore, when caught in a boat, in the tumultuous sea of life, and it all seems utterly impossible, be steadfast in your obedience to God. Hang onto Him tightly. Only God knows the future. He can see beyond the horizon of the sky.
Ephesians 3:20: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”
My prayer for today: “God I am in need of being astounded by You. I place my complete faith and trust in your almighty plan. Help me to completely take up the shield of faith so I can fight all of the flaming darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). With You nothing is impossible! Amen.”
Listen to “You Hold It All” by the Newsboys.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lVtkV2DWik