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(For the past couple years I have been both witnessing and
experiencing conflict and struggle in most every area of life; not just my own
life, but in the lives of people all around me. It seems that in the past few
weeks the intensity has been turned from high to maximum. I see it in my own
personal life and as a result I will likely end up preaching my own funeral! J I
pray that these words will encourage you as I share what I have seen and heard,
and as I share what the Lord is continually trying to get through my thick
skull. -- Shalom friends, Mike) The Battle There are times when all of life seems to be coming apart at the seams. Relational conflicts, financial problems, and personal struggles attempt to tear us to pieces. If you find yourself in one of those situations today, be encouraged by the words of the Lord, “He will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon his or her circumstances” …or maybe that isn’t what He says???? Most of us know this is not how the passage reads, yet when the struggles of life come crashing down on us, it IS often what we do! We obsess on ourselves and our situation rather than letting the circumstance direct our minds to Jesus so we can experience His perfect peace. Remember we are in a war; one that doesn’t just rage around us, but it also rages within us. The enemy attempts to drag us down by drawing our eyes away from Jesus. He shifts our focus to ourselves; what we said or didn’t say; what we did or didn’t do, our thoughts, our behavior, our feelings, etc. He also does it by shifting our focus to other people; what other’s said or didn’t say; what other’s did or didn’t do, other’s thoughts, other’s behavior, other’s feelings, etc. Lately, my own personal conflicts have been so intense that I have seriously considered leaving vocational ministry and going back to a “normal” life (whatever that is). At times the pressures come through emotional, physical, financial, and/or relational problems. They come so intensely that it seems unbearable. As a result I am often left wading in the putrid sewage of my flesh wondering how in the world the Lord could have ever called someone like me to ministry. At times I wonder if there is ANY area of my life where there is not major conflict or struggle! The pain is so intense: internally I groan; external I tend to cuss. If you find yourself in a similar situation, take heart. “Is the Lord’s hand shortened that He cannot save, or is His ear deaf, that He cannot hear?” (Isaiah 59:1&2) My humanity wants to put the focus back on me, and wants me to believe that God cannot hear or help me. But God would have the focus put back on Him by recognizing that there is nothing that can separate us from the Love of God that is found in Christ Jesus. Only then can I rest in the confident trust that He CAN save and He DOES hear. He is with me. He does have my best in mind no matter how badly I hurt and no matter what form the pain comes in. I can rest in Him because no matter what I am walking through, Jesus IS enough. Verses for Reflection For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13 Webster) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12 MKJV) You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3 MKJV) For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 MKJV) |
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