EVERY STRUGGLE MUST BEGIN WITH GOD!
We can work for the Lord.
We can work for our families.
We can work for our jobs.
We can work.
We can have the best intentions.
We can be the best “go-getter.”
We can find ourselves overloaded.
We can find ourselves left—unchecked & going until we crash.
We can become physically depleted.
We can fall behind.
We can find our lives on repeat & repeat & repeat & repeat & . . .
“Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. . . .
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.
The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God”
(3 John 2 & 11)
Are we healthy?
Are we physically healthy?
Are we mentally healthy?
Are we emotionally healthy?
Are we spiritually healthy?
Are we healthy?
We can work & work & work & work, but if we don’t stay centered on God, we will find ourselves overloaded.
Where are you?
Are you focused? Centered on God?
Are you Overloaded & Unchecked?
Are you Physically & Emotionally Depleted?
Are we headed toward God—OR—Are we headed away from God & toward an inevitable CRASH?
We don’t have to continue in that direction.
We can (with God’s guidance) keep our minds, our hearts, and our bodies—perfectly centered & perfectly balanced—through PRAYER & BIBLE STUDY.
WE CAN!
When we pray, when we belong to God, we can ask Him to keep us in good balance.
When we pray, when we belong to God, we can ask Him to help us.
We can be overworked & so, so busy. We can say “Yes” to an already full calendar. & Most definitely, we can desire a break—from Everything!
We can rely upon our own strength.
We can rely upon the strength of our husband.
We can rely upon everything earthly, and we WILL STILL NEED GOD!
Yes, we can rely upon our own strength—OR—We can RELY SOLEY UPON the LORD.
God is our HOPE and our STRENGTH and our PEACE in every struggle.
EVERY STRUGGLE.
EVERY STRUGGLE MUST BEGIN WITH GOD!
In the Bible, the “calling” of the disciples is recorded, and in one narrative, Jesus calls Matthew. SEE WITH ME.
“Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’ . . .
(MARK 1: 14-19)
Simon and Andrew—FOLLOWED JESUS.
James and John—FOLLOWED JESUS.
As He passed by, (in Capernaum) He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus [Matthew] sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he got up and followed Him.”
(Mark 2: 14)
This man worked for the “wrong” crowd, and we are not told why.
This man stood up and followed Christ, and we are not told why.
This man invited Jesus and His disciples to his home as dinner guests, and we are not told why.
Jesus never said, “Follow My People.”
Jesus said, “Follow Me.”
My eyes must be on Jesus.
Your eyes must be on Jesus.
Our eyes must be on Jesus.
Jesus said, “Follow Me.”
Every Day.
Every Moment.
During Every Struggle.
During Everything.
Our eyes must be on Jesus!
Matthew was a smart man, an educated man, and a man who knew the Old Testament.
Matthew was a man who knew the Word of God.
Matthew had been a man who choose to rebel against God.
But then, one day, Jesus passed by and said, “Follow Me.”
Matthew did—Follow Jesus—from that day forward.
So, I wonder today:
Q—What causes people to not follow Jesus?
Q—What causes people to turn away from the innate desire to know God?
Q—What causes people to turn away from the church?
Q—Do people find faith and then lose their faith?
Q—Do people never find their faith?
Q—Do people face tragedy and suffer loss and see hypocrisy and turn away from what they know to be true?
Q—What causes people to turn away from following Jesus?
Q—What causes people to never choose to turn toward Jesus?
FAITH.
If our faith cannot be tested, then quite possibly—It cannot be trusted.
If our faith cannot be trusted, then quite possibly—it is not real.
If our faith cannot be fully believed, then quite possibly—one never believed.
These are SERIOUS STATEMENTS!
These are ETERNAL STATEMENTS!
Yesterday, I saw a photo of a man standing on the edge of a mountain. He stood there, perched—balanced between safety, and falling to his demise. There he stood—the man and the sky. The man & the air. The man & Almighty God.
What holds us?
Who holds us?
We can walk through every day, every human triumph, every human struggle.
We can go it alone—OR—We can choose to go with God.
We can follow ourselves and what we know to be true—OR—We can follow Jesus!
What do we desire?
What do we want?
What will bring us satisfaction?
What will bring us joy?
WHO?
The answer is really quite simple.
Jesus came that we might be found.
Jesus came that we might be saved.
Jesus came that we might be known.
Jesus came that we might be redeemed.
Jesus came that we might be HIS!
Jesus came.
Our priorities. Our appetites. Our wants. Our desires. Our emotions. Our Whatever.
Jesus came to allow us to desire HIM more than anything!
Jesus came that we might follow HIM!
See the man.
See the man, standing.
See the man, standing on the side of the mountain.
See the man, standing on the side of the mountain and looking toward the sky.
See the man, standing on the side of the mountain and looking toward the sky–& SEEING JESUS!
See the man, standing on the side of the mountain and looking toward the sky–& FINALLY SEEING & FOLLOWING JESUS!
See the man no longer standing alone.
See the man & See JESUS standing with the man!
Every Struggle Must Begin With GOD!
In the Bible, we see another follower of Christ Jesus, the Apostle Peter, who wrote of what is needed to Follow JESUS, what JESUS provides to those who choose to follow Him. SEE WITH ME.
“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(2 Peter 1: 5-8)