Humbly Submitting

"Stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." - Jeremiah 6:16

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" - Matthew 5:5

As you know, I have declared to give up worry and anxiety for lent and forever. It isn't an easy task in this world, with all the pressures we face, not to worry and not to be anxious. I have found it an almost impossible task. As much as I try, circumstances still cause me to worry, to be anxious.

God has finally opened my eyes to the recognition I can never accomplish this goal on my own. More specifically, it is the fact that I try to control the circumstances which actually causes the worry and anxiety. The only way for me to release these things is to realize I must totally submit to God. I must place all my trust in His sovereignty. He rules and reigns over EVERYTHING including MY LIFE!!

Through the study of His word, I have discovered the peace I am looking for only comes from Him and only by understanding what it means to be meek, humble, gentle...to have complete poverty of spirit. To put all my own thoughts, ways, desires and will under the complete control of my Lord and Savior.

What does meekness mean? Many people equate it with weakness, which couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, meekness is power under control. Literally defined, meekness is an attitude of heart that prostrates itself before the throne of God's sovereignty in faith's submission to the will of God. It is a pliability; it means not resisting God's will, not fighting against our circumstance, not retaliating when we feel wronged. It is a recognition of God's sovereignty, a recognition that brings rest and peace, for we understand God rules us and not our circumstances.

When we stop fighting against the circumstances, the things of this world and realize we need to submit to the will of God and to totally trust Him to take care of us, then we finally are released from the worry and anxiety that comes from our trying to manipulate the external circumstances of life. As the Jeremiah verse above reminds us, we must always ask God. If we do, he will give us the answers. he will never lead us down the wrong path.

As we read this past week, there are many instances where God commands us to "be strong and courageous" or "do not worry" "do not be anxious", all of those are preceded by His promise to give us strength, to never leave us, to give us peace and rest. As Matthew 5:5 says "the meek will inherit the earth". Wow, what a promise. And let me ask you this, Has God ever gone back on His word? Our God is faithful and if we follow Him and acknowledge Him as our sovereign Lord, He will give us everything He has promised.

There is so much scripture on what it is to be meek and humble. I urge you to use your concordance and study it for yourself. I believe you will be richly rewarded for the time spent.

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant." - Psalm 25:9-10

We will cover more next week looking at Moses and Jesus as examples of humility and the gifts we receive by humbling ourselves to God.

God Bless!!

Do not worry....really?!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Phillippians 4:4-7

When I first met Jesus, really met Jesus, I was taking three to four Xanax a day. My anxiety was suffocating. I really thought my heart might literally beat out of my chest. It was bad.

The Philippians verse is one of the first verses God led me to. I knew He was speaking directly to me. The passage jumped off the page and I read and re-read it. I then thought about it in its true context. Paul, writing to the church in Philippi while he was chained to a Roman centurion. He knew his end was coming. What in the world did he have to be rejoicing about?!! He certainly had every right to be anxious!!

At the time, it gave me great strength to read his words and realize the Lord was indeed near. There was peace in that. I was freed from my daily need for Xanax only using them to sleep occasionally. But I found it impossible to completely give up worry. To not be anxious about certain things. The pressures of life that led me to this place were still there. There were still too many bills and a declining economy.

Over the past few weeks the worry has started to mount a bit more, and I even though I kept going back to that passage, I didn't really think the peace Paul wrote about was attainable, at least not in my current situation. I considered getting my prescription refilled.

I started looking up every reference to worry, anxiety, fear, etc. in the bible. As I wrote the passages down and started to read and re-read them, I kept coming back to the same thing. Almost everywhere you find those words in the bible, it says "do not" before them.

"This is what the Lord says to you: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." - 2 Chronicles 20:15

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

"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." - Isaiah 41:10

"Peace I leave you with, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27

I recognized that God wasn't requesting we not be anxious or worried, He was telling us NOT to be. Wow, so now my anxious thoughts and worry are a sin. I also noticed in all the passages when we are told not to worry, we are told that our God is there, giving us strength. Well, I read them and yes, I understand God is with me, but still the worry and anxiety creep in and steal that promised peace.

So, where do I go from here. Well, I took it to my Lord. I went straight to the source and asked Him. "Lord, as I see it, anxiety and worry are a sin. I don't want to sin against your but I don't know how to stop the worry. It seems to be a natural effect of my circumstance. Please Lord, help me. Show me what you mean when you say I will receive a peace that transcends all understanding. Please Lord, show me the way."

Well, our God being totally faithful, has given me answers. He has spoken directly to my question since I asked it, showing me scripture and putting lessons in front of me. My righteous Lord is giving me my request. My joy is being established, truly established.

How you ask? Let me start with this, the day after putting my anxiety question to God, I heard a lesson on the Philippians 4 verses. In that lesson, the pastor pointed out "the peace doesn't come in the answers but in the conversation."

As I wrote that in the margin of my bible next to the verse, I heard God say loud and clear...."Sweetie, you can talk to Me about anything. Any worry, any anxious thought, bring it to Me like an old friend, your Mother, your spouse. But I unlike them, am your Lord and I have the power to do something about them. I alone can give you the strength to overcome."

I realized right then, my anxiety came from not trusting God with my problems. I was not giving him the credit of the conversation, of laying it all out to Him. I was not intimately going to Him with all of my worries and fears, no matter how big or how small. But most importantly, I had not humbled myself completely and totally to Him. I had not submitted every ounce of my own will to Him. The anxiety came because I felt out of control, when I never was intended to be in control. I felt like I ought to the one to solve my problems, forgetting that everything...everything is from God.

I have now turned my study to what it is to be meek. What it is to have poverty of spirit. What it is to totally, I mean totally, submit my life to God. As we embark on the Lenten season, I have made it my Lenten promise to ask God to show me the areas of my life that I am still trying to control. The things I refuse to turn over to him. Over the next few weeks, I would love for you to join me in the exploration. I will be posting my Lenten messages on Wednesday nights (I know, I am a day late already!). I hope you will join me.

Much love and God Bless.
Michelle

Flesh is hard

"For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." - Hebrews 2:17-18

As I reflect back over the last few weeks, looking at how I handled my "dance with the devil" God has spoken to me through scripture. As I have chastised myself for not handling the situations better, I am reminded I have an advocate in Jesus who understands just how hard it is resist the temptations of the flesh. A faithful friend who gets it and can intervene for me with God. A savior who endured the pain and fear of this world so that I would never have to pay the true wages of my sin.

As I have prayed over the past few days, I have physically seen Jesus putting his mighty hands under my arms and lifting me above the muck of this world. He has lifted me up and allowed me to approach the throne of grace. I have sat at His feet while God the Father is at His side and been filled with the feeling of adoption into His family. And as I have gotten ready to face a new day, He gently picks me up embracing me with a loving hug and kiss on the forehead. He sends me out to face the world with the knowledge that I am not alone and the strength that comes from knowing with Him all things are possible. Even facing down the devil and those things that want to tear at my flesh.

Our God is an awesome God. Let us never forget how He understands the world we live in and the temptations of the flesh. He lived it as a Son of God and Son of Man. He is there to help us succeed and intercede when we stumble.

Can I get an AMEN to that!!!

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." - Hebrews 2:14-15

Just when you think your safe

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." - 2 Corinthians 12:8

I know I have been missing in action for a few weeks and I apologize. I have been experiencing my first real trails as a new Christian. I have discovered that just when you feel the most confident and safe in your salvation, the devil makes his move to try and win you back to his side. And the power of this world is very, very, strong. And as I am discovering, the devil doesn't give up easily.

While our salvation is a free gift of God, I am finding out that the consequences of our past sin are not necessarily washed away with His blood. While I know my sin is forgiven and I have received salvation, there are still lessons to be learned from the "fall out" of the life we were leading. And, often times, Satan uses that "fall out" to try and lure us back into the muck Jesus washed away.

As I have discovered through Paul's story in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, God leaves us some of that "fall out" to remind us where we came from and the mess we made of our lives without him. We need to be reminded that His grace is sufficient and all we need to make it in this though, though world.

I don't think I have handled my testing as good as I could have, but I have learned valuable lessons. I know I don't control my world, God does. I know He knows what is best for me. I know there will be times He will make sure I remember those facts. I also know he loves me very much and is right there welcoming me with open arms when I realize I can't make it without Him.

"Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." - James 4:7,8a,10

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleased with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for your, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
- 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

"be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." - 2 Timothy 2:1

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7