Where are the Answers?

     There are somethings I don't understand in life, and will probably never know this side of heaven.  There are circumstances that all of us must face and there are no answers for, so we think.  God has all the answers, but does not reveal them to us all the time.  We just have to trust and have faith.  We can not see past today for a reason.  We don't know what will happen tomorrow because God wants us to rest in Him.  There are times we pray for healing, we pray for finances, we pray for a job, and then we don't hear from God.  He's quiet.  Maybe we don't listen to God.  Maybe He is quietly fashioning our lives to bring us to a place where we have the utmost closeness to Him that He desires.  He wants the best for us, and yes, there are times when life seems hopeless and the answers are not what we want to hear.  But God knows.  But God hears our cries.  But God has a perfect plan.

     God's perfect plan doesn't mean we always get our own way when we pray for things.  Our prayers need to be aligned with His perfect will.  We want and want for our selfish desires, but sometimes we fight against what God wants for us, maybe sometimes unknowingly.  Sometimes we have to wait for answers.  Sometimes we need to ask for His help, when we think we can do it on our own.  Sometimes we just need to trust, no matter what the circumstances.  The answers are there.  God does provide.  He says He will provide and He doesn't lie.  He can't lie.  He does take care of us in His own way.  So when we pray, we must also let God talk to us and listen.  We must submit to His will, and we must have perseverance and wait for Him.  Where are the answers?  They are there waiting for you when your ready for them.

     

A Conqueror Through Jesus

*Note: I have not been blogging for awhile now, but I hope all of you had a blessed Christmas and New Year.  It's good to be writing again!

ROMANS 8:37

"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us".

     Going through struggles, we often resort to pity, bitterness and resentment.  We find ourselves wondering if this is really where God wants us to be.  I found myself there many times.  I ask God, "If You want me here, why am I going through such a battle?"  He quietly whispers to me, "Be still and know that I am God".  A friend of mine today gave me the verse above, and that verse says it all, when we go through trials.  Whether we lose a child, or a parent.  Whether we lose a relationship.  Whether we are called to minister to others and we feel like we're failing.  Whatever the struggle or trial is, we are conquerors through Jesus.  Jeremiah 29:11 states, "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future".  

     Just when I am at my wits end, Jesus intervenes, either with a Word from Him or someone's action that either makes me laugh or encourages me.  I cry, I pray, I ask God where He is, and He answers, usually through others.  He loved us enough to die for us, and He still loves us.  He always will.  He conquered death and all the trials we have faced and are facing, and will face in our lifetime.  Trust and faith is a lot of work, and we can't believe the lie that "we" can do it "on our own".  We need Jesus to do the work.  Sometimes we get in His way, and that is never a pretty sight.  Let Jesus take your life and make it what He wants it to be.  If there are trials along the way, it's for your own good.  Rest assured that His ways are better than your ways.  Jesus does not require us to be happy, He requires us to be faithful to Him and to endure life, trusting in His Work.

     I sometimes wonder if "I'm" doing things right.  I don't always do things right.  It's through Jesus that I accomplish my ministry to others.  My flesh is sinful, so I have to do life through Jesus, who has no sin.  I never thought I was a control freak, but I am.  When I became a Christian, I realized how controlling I am, and even after several years of being a Christian.  I thought I gave everything to Jesus, but the one thing I still am holding on to is doing it "my way", when things seems to go wrong.  When I do that, that is when everything does go wrong.  God whispers to me again, "Trust Me".  Now that we have gone through the Christmas season, I realize what Christmas really is about.  God humbled Himself and became a baby, born in a lowly manger, and He came to deliver us from sin, by dying and shedding His own blood.  God gave us the "perfect" gift, not only on Christmas, but on the Cross.  He gave us His Son.  He gave Him up to be on this earth and He gave Him up to die.  Why?  Because He loved us.  And through that, we overwhelmingly are conquerors.

Be blessed throughout 2013!

Sabrina