Strength

DO I REALLY WANT TO DO IT MYSELF?

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CLIMBING

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh.
Is there anything too hard for Me?
Jeremiah 32:27 NKJ

When I started to get ready for work this morning, I noticed a granddaddy spider in my bathtub. It is a huge “garden tub”, so I was wondering how he got in there. But soon it became obvious to me that HE was wondering how he was going to get out! I watched for a moment as he tried unsuccessfully to climb the slick walls of the tub only to fall back down again after a few steps. My next thought was to rescue this poor creature from his almost certain doom. So I tried over and again to grab one of his long legs, but he always scrambled from my grasp. Finally I just said, “Hey, I’m trying to help you here!” I grabbed him with my entire hand, took him to the front door and released him into the wild! : ) (How is that for melodrama?)

No sooner had I accomplished my dangerous rescue effort than I heard the Lord speaking to my heart saying… “That’s how it is with my children sometimes. When you have hardships or even get yourself into a predicament of your own making, instead of running to me for help, you start running scared in the other direction. I want to help you! I’m trying to help you! But you are running from me rather than running toward me. My hand is outstretched, but instead of grabbing onto it, you are trying to come up with a solution yourself while climbing the slick wall of circumstances and falling back down again and again.”

I have a two year old granddaughter and she is a great illustration of our human tendency toward self sufficiency. She will be trying to do something with much effort…something very difficult for a two year old. But when I ask, “Do you want Meme to help you?” Her answer is an emphatic “No!” Now, unlike the spider, she usually succeeds in the end through sheer determination. But sometimes it would be so much easier if she would just accept help.

We adults have the same stubborn tendency toward our Heavenly Father at times. Instead of humbling ourselves and going to Him in prayer and dependency, we trudge on with the weight of the world on our shoulders when He has told us to “cast all our care on Him”. (1 Peter 5:7) And Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Wouldn’t it be so much easier to go to the Lord at the first sign of trouble instead of trying and trying on our own to remedy the situation. But often we make calling on the Lord our last resort, after we have exhausted all of our own resources. Have you ever heard someone say, “Well, I guess there is nothing left to do but pray?”…as though it is an admission of hopelessness and defeat. At the first sign of hardship we should not be saying, “God, look how big my problem is!” Instead we should be saying, “Problem, look how big my God is!!!” I’m just saying it makes all the difference in our perspective. And acting on it, makes all the difference in the outcome!

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

STRENGTH FOR THE WEARY

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EAGLE GOLDEN
Haven’t you known, haven’t you heard
that the everlasting God, Adonai,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
does not grow tired or weary?
His understanding cannot be fathomed.
He invigorates the exhausted,
He gives strength to the powerless.
Young men may grow tired and weary,
even the fittest may stumble and fall;
but those who hope in Adonai will renew their strength,
they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings;
when they are running they won’t grow weary,
when they are walking they won’t get tired.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Complete Jewish Bible

Are you weary today? Are you tired of the “rat race” so to speak? Well, I am. I have to depend on the Lord to renew my strength daily. And you know what I’ve discovered? He usually doesn’t give it ahead of time. He doesn’t give me tomorrow’s strength today. He gives me today’s strength for today and tomorrow’s strength will be there when I need it.

We can spend our entire life anticipating the future and it won’t change it one bit. But if we spend our entire life trusting in God’s grace for the future, it changes everything! Rest follows very closely on the heels of trust. If you are truly trusting, you will abide in rest. There is no place for stress in the believing heart. Oh, you will have opportunity for it, but don’t let it get a foot in the door. When stress comes knocking…send a trusting heart to answer. For once you let stress get a foothold, you have to expend a lot of energy and more stress to get him out. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7) Let’s learn to just head it off at the pass!

You may be thinking, “Well, God may get tired of me constantly depending on Him.” Are you kidding me?! Our Heavenly Father loves for us to be totally dependent on Him. He wants us to rest in His unending grace, the unmerited favor that Jesus purchased for us with such an awesome price…His own shed blood. And Our Father never gets tired or weary. He’s always there, waiting for His children to call on Him, day or night. But you know what is even better? We can just abide in His grace, knowing that moment by moment He is providing our every need. Knowing that, as an eagle, He will give us the strength…physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally to soar above the temptations, trials and stresses of this life. Hallelujah!!! Now make a decision that from this moment on, you’re going to abide in His grace, rest in His love…and trust Him to help you soar with the wings of an eagle!

BUMBLEBEE FAITH

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BUMBLEBEE
How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Psalm 104:24

SONG:  MY LORD WON’T LET ME DOWN

I was reading something just this morning about the bumblebee, one of God’s more interesting creations, although there are many such creatures. I am just fascinated to see how intricately and precisely He makes each one of them, from the ant to the antelope…from the chipmunk to the cheetah. But back to the Bumblebee…it is said that some time ago a group of aeronautical engineers decided to study the bumblebee. They measured its wingspan, computed body weight, examined its over-sized fuselage and concluded that there was no logical reason why a bumblebee can take off or land safely. Of course, the bumblebee doesn’t know this, so it goes ahead and flies anyway!

Whether or not the study is true, it makes sense in its claims. But the part they left out is the fact that the Bumblebee didn’t create itself. As I said, God created some amazing creatures! What about the ant that can carry a load many times its own weight? What about the camel that has its own reservoir for water retention? I could go on and on, but let me get to the point…

In the same way that God created animals to do amazing things seemingly far beyond their capacity, so He created us to excel far above our own natural ability through His enablement. Glory to God! The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” There are absolutely no exclusions in that verse, but it is understood that we must depend on that strength in order to tap into it. I love this verse in the amplified version… “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” All you can say after reading that is, “WOW!” I can do this thing! I am infused with strength from on high!

Do you need some empowerment today? Does it seem that your wings of faith are too small to lift your body of circumstances? It’s not a hopeless situation, you know. Just tap into THE Source of Empowerment. If He doesn’t change the circumstances, He will increase the strength of your wings so that you can rise above them. You’ll be equal to the task as He infuses you with His strength!

Don’t believe what the circumstances dictate. Don’t believe what the enemy of your soul is whispering in your ear. Don’t believe it when your family says, “You can’t do that!” Don’t believe it when your friends say you won’t make it. Don’t believe your own negative thoughts echoing in your mind trying to derail your faith! It really may look impossible in the natural. But we serve a supernatural God! It may even look difficult beyond your abilities. But nothing is too hard for God! So right now, just determine to have the faith of a Bumblebee. Don’t look at the size of your wings. Don’t look at the size of your body. Look at the size of your God! And when you do, nothing will be too hard for YOU!

DON’T GIVE UP!

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KITTEN, FROG, CRANE
SONG: DON’T GIVE UP!

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Psalm 27:13-14

Don’t ever give up!!! It’s a choice YOU make, you know! Even if you can’t justify hanging on to God’s promises simply because it’s the right thing to do, do it for this reason…“There’s just no way I’m going to allow Satan to win!” As I look back over the years (many for me!), I see that Satan has tried to destroy me from the time I rolled out of the comfort of my mother’s womb. (I’m telling you…someday I’m going to write a book!) But I have just enough of my dad’s tenacity and my mom’s stubbornness to say…“No way, Devil! Get behind me, Satan!” Now if I’m totally honest, which I try to be, I will admit that there were times I was tempted to give up. I felt like the picture of that little kitten hanging on a rope with only one paw and one claw! But by the grace of God and drawing on His strength another picture flooded my mind. Probably you’ve seen this one too. It’s a picture of a frog in the mouth of a huge crane that quite apparently has plans to have him for breakfast. But with every ounce of strength within him, the frog manages to free his two front legs and is choking the crane with all of his might! The caption reads, of course, “Don’t Ever Give Up!!!”

Needless to say, just like that crane with the frog, Satan would love to have us for breakfast! The Bible plainly tells us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” (John 10:10a)  Did you get that? The only reason Satan even comes around is to steal, kill and destroy…YOU!  It is his sole purpose on this earth. And you actually wonder why you are having problems?   But let me tell you, God didn’t have a thing to do with it! “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 1010b)  “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone…Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) Our Father God never changes. He is always good! Neither does Satan ever change. He is always bad!

Well are we going to just hang on by our last claw for the rest of our lives? Absolutely, unequivocally, undisputedly, irrevocably not! But the one thing that determines our success or failure is this…We can NEVER GIVE UP! Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Don’t let Satan defeat you! He is not stronger than God, therefore he is not stronger than you, for God is in you in the presence of the Holy Spirit! Let me give you a few verses to hold on to. Speak them out loud. They will put a chokehold on Satan! And before you know it, just like that little frog, you’ll be jumping right out of those difficult circumstances. I’m personalizing the verses for you!

Lord, I will hold fast the confession of my hope
without wavering,
for You promised and You are faithful.
Hebrews 10:23

Lord, grant me, according to the riches of Your glory,
to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit
in the inner man.
Ephesians 3:16

Thank You that “No temptation has overtaken me
except what is common to mankind.
And You, God are faithful;
You will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear.
But when I am tempted,
You will also provide a way out so that I can endure it.
I Corinthians 10:13

I thank You, Lord, that I am strong in You
and in the power of Your might!
And above all, I will take the shield of faith
with which I will be able to quench
ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Ephesians 6:10,16

Lord, I WILL NOT fear, for You have redeemed me;
You have called me by Your name; I am Yours.
When I pass through the waters, You will be with me;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow me.
When I walk through the fire, I will not be burned,
Nor will the flame scorch me.
For You are the LORD my God,
The Holy One of Israel, my Savior!
Isaiah 43:1-3

And I WILL overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of my testimony!
Revelation 12:11

DON’T STRESS . . . REST

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REST - KITTEN

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened,
and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me,
for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest
(relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29 Amplified Bible

When my granddaughter, Grace, was an infant, my daughter took her to the pediatrician for a follow-up visit. She was a tiny little thing, just two months old at the time. Her older sister, Charity, had gone along to help Mom. Because of some problems she had since birth, they needed to take blood from her vein rather than a finger prick. They were all in the examination room when the blood was to be extracted, so the nurse asked Charity to stand at the head of the table and help hold and calm her, while mom stood at the side.

As she was so tiny, the nurse had a difficult time inserting the syringe. Charity was at her post trying not to get upset at the quickly escalating fiasco. But as Grace got more upset, Charity’s stress level was elevating also. Then it peaked. She started to wobble a bit, her eyes lost focus and at that point her mom saw her slide slowly down the wall and under the table. She had fainted! They had to put the blood work on hold and take care of Charity who was out cold! She was trying so hard to be strong for her baby sister, but the stress took its toll.

Sometimes life is like that. I know personally, I always want to be strong for my family. I will put my own health in jeopardy to meet their needs or desires. But especially during holidays when the pace is so hectic anyway, it can take a toll. And often our stress is not necessarily from outside sources, but self-imposed. We don’t want to say “no”. We don’t want to inconvenience anyone else…never mind about us! We don’t even want to compromise. We want to do it the way we’ve done it for the last umpteen years and we want to do it perfectly. And besides, if you want it done right (whatever it is), do it yourself! Does any of this sound familiar?

Well the only problem with this attitude is that circumstances and people (including ourselves) change from year to year. And if we don’t change with them, the stress level can max us out to the point that we end up under the table! We can become overly fatigued or even sick. When that happens, we’re no good to anyone, not even ourselves! I must tell you that I’m writing this from personal experience. My lessons in moderation have been learned the hard way. I’ve always wanted to be Super-Mom, Super-Friend, just Super to everyone! But as the years have passed some of my super powers have waned a bit. I’ve had to make some modifications to my job description. I’ve come to understand that it’s more important to me and my family for me to be in super-rest rather than super-stress. And when I forget that, I go to the Lord, give it to Him once again, and enter into the rest that only complete confidence in Him can bring.

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
Psalm 62:1

GOOD PLANS FOR ME

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HELPING UP

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared
For those who love Him
1 Corinthians 2:9

That verse just makes me feel good all over. My Heavenly Father has awesome things prepared for ME! How do I know that? Because I’m one of those who love Him. And if you also love Him, he has great things prepared for you. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Things may not appear to be going great in the present moment, but hold on to this promise and say, “My Father is preparing things for me that are more wonderful than I can even imagine!” Remind the Lord of His promises and thank Him that He is working to bring them to pass. After all, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Numbers 23:19 TLB

I have heard numerous stories about how God turned situations around for people because they held on to his promises in faith. Proverbs 24:16 says, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.” Maybe you feel like this is your seventh time and like the commercial you’re saying, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” But let me tell you, with God’s help you can! Listen to these words from God Himself and take heart.

“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