I have been spending most of this week on a roller coaster of emotions. It is funny that when emotions stir up regarding one issue, you seem to be overly sensitive to emotions attached to other issues. Meaning, what you thought you were dealing with well can be totally derailed by the wrong “one more thing”. It has caused me to stand in the mirror and admit to myself, ‘for as easy as it sounds, it sure is hard.’
Matthew chapter 6 speaks to how we as foolish men worry about all details of life. We worry and think about them as if we are the manager of them, as if we have control over them. We think about how we can manipulate circumstances. We really try hard to be in control of our lives. Matthew delivers that message strong in chapter 6. That is why verse 33 is so powerful and true, yet so difficult.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
“Seek ye FIRST!!” This means before anything else. No exceptions!! No ‘yeah but’!!! Turning to God is the first and only answer. We are told here that by having the faith and strength to resist the flesh and seek the divine we will have all the things talked about previously in chapter 6, food/clothes/drink, added unto us. This chapter is all about the lesson of trusting on the LORD and not ourselves. We are seriously being told to stop. Just stop!! The LORD provides for the least of the earth’s creatures, He will provide for you!
Truly making the LORD the head of our lives and truly turning ALL things over to the LORD seems easy, but man, it is really hard. I feel confident in saying that most would probably declare that they do turn all things over to God. But I would be equally confident to say that as those same people get up off their face from prayer, they picked issues back up and continue to try to solve it on their own. What I mean is, show me an issue that you truly left at the foot of the cross, and I will, most likely, be able to show you an issue you don’t care about very much. I don’t mean to insult, as there are people who have great faith and know what it means to truly leave it at the foot of the cross. I would feel confident about that because I know it happens to me about those things that really mean something to me. We know we should leave it at the cross because the bible says we should.
1 Peter 5: 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
There are many more verses that encourage us to endure through our trials. I love James 1 as he tells to rejoice in our diverse temptations. But I war with my flesh. Because you are human just like me, I am certain that you do as well. The flesh focuses on the trial, making us forget that there is a power greater and more capable than we. The flesh tells me, “I got this”. Then that “one more thing” comes and I realize I don’t have a thing!! In his letter to the Church of Rome Paul talks about this higher power.
Romans 13 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
As I ride my roller coaster, I learn that when I am high and enjoying life I love to talk of God. As I descend into the valley I grip harder onto the rail and trust in my own strength to keep me in my seat. The same things as those “Whip” type rides. You grab that rail and you try to stay in your position. But God’s naturally created forces are too strong. I don’t know about you, but I usually go sliding out of position. It is this urge to grip harder to the rail we must resist. Why is it important to separate yourself from the world? Because the more time you spend there, the less time you spend with God. The less time you spend with God translates to less trust in Him. The more time you spend in the world translates into you trusting in more worldly things, like your own strength. To build that relationship with God so that, even in those valleys when your body really wants to grab that rail, you can let go and say that God is truly in control, which is the faith that truly sets a believer free. The bottom line truth is that God is indeed in control. He always has been and he always will be. Another bottom line truth is that most of us know and believe that. We just cannot seem to come to the place where we are comfortable with obedience to God.
1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
We must make our minds pure by thinking on only God. We cannot have our minds corrupted by the earthly thoughts, the fleshly desires, and the sinful ideas of acquiescence to the world and its standards. We must meditate on God’s instruction, seek submission to His standards, and then we must behave accordingly.
Matters of work, marriage, parenting, and all manners of relationships, we cannot allow the trials of these relationships to cause us to turn away from God. Whether we are turning to ourselves or the assistance of worldly advice, we must remember that it is God who is the source of power; He is the source of the right answer. God is the source of the love and discipline that will bring our endurance. We must remember that it is us who departs from God; God does not depart from us.
I love Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
How we set ourselves up for failure is that we do not rejoice in the LORD always. Sometimes we think he has no idea what he is doing, and we try to do it ourselves. That is not what the LORD says. I will give one quick example. Men think they should love their wives only when the wife is submissive. The wife believes she should submit only when the husband loves her like Christ loves the church. Neither of that is true. We think these things because we put the wife and the husband first. What is true is that the husband will never be worthy of the wife’s submission, and the wife will never be worthy her husband’s love. Yet, God commands us to do both anyway. Why, because He is worthy and He knows that this is what will make a marriage work. With the divorce rate being what it is today, I am convinced that man certainly does not have the answer. Being divorced myself, I have personal knowledge and can say with great confidence that man controlling his own destiny will result in utter failure.
It takes practice! God knows I fail, and I am pretty sure that you fail too. In fact, I am pretty sure we all fail repeatedly. But get back up, remember that God is there, reset your thoughts to his power and not yours. Have a sincere heart, meaning every word of your prayer, and seeking with great desire the exclusive relationship with the Father. Let go of that rail! I love Charles Ellicott’s take on this.
“But the emphasis laid on it here, coupled with the constant references to joy in the Epistle, show that St. Paul designed to call attention to its strict meaning, and to enforce, again and again, the Christian duty of joy. It is, of course, a “joy in the Lord:” for only in the Lord is joy possible to any thoughtful mind or feeling heart in such a world as this.”
Only with the deepest and truest of relationships with God will we find that true joy that goes with us through trials. We will never be able to manage our emotions appropriately independent of God. If you depend on any other source, your power will consistently be insufficient.
If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about relationship with God, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!
Believers of Biblical Truth 