"We Do Not War Against Flesh and Blood...": Emailing: LexUriServ

How Trusting God Can Transform Your Life

For a long time, there was so much turmoil in my life. It really saddens me to think about all the years I wasted living this way. I was a Christian and went to church, but I spent a lot of time being upset about things I couldn’t do anything about, experienced feelings of guilt and condemnation much of the time, had no peace and just didn’t enjoy life.

Thankfully, I’ve had a radical transformation. I’ve developed the habit of trusting God, and now life is really worth living.

What It Means to Trust God

Trusting God is simply believing that He loves you, He’s good, He has the power to help you, He wants to help you, and He will help you. Christians are called believers, but many times, we are more like unbelieving believers. We trust our friends, the bank, the stock market or the government more than we trust God and His Word.

In John 15:5, Jesus says that apart from Him, we can do nothing. We need to lean on Him for help with everything in our lives. Sadly, a lot of people go to church, hear what they should do and then go home and try to do it on their own. They usually end up desperately telling God how hard they’re trying to do what they need to do, and they’re leaving Him out!

God wants us to put Him first in our lives. He wants us to put our confidence and trust in Him, all the time, in everything.

Learning to Trust God, Not Myself

I used to have a habit of trusting myself. I formed this habit through years of trusting people, getting hurt and finding out I couldn’t trust them. This caused me to believe, If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself. If you don’t ask anybody for anything or open your heart to them, they can’t hurt you. But this mindset just kept me from trusting God. It was a bad habit I had to break.

Proverbs 3:5,6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (NKJV). When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, the Spirit of God comes to live inside you. This is one of the greatest blessings of salvation: You don’t have to go through someone else to get to God. He dwells in your heart and you can learn to hear His voice.

The best way to hear from God and know how He wants you to live is to know what the Bible, His Word, says. God’s Word gives us wisdom. And as we study the Bible, our mind is renewed (see Romans 12:2), so we no longer just think the way the world thinks – we can think the way God thinks!

The Good Habit That Really Makes the Difference

We have to habitually study the Word to really have confidence in God and know we can hear Him. The Bible is food for our spirit. As we spend time reading and meditating on Scripture, we develop a strong spirit. Then we can hear God speaking to our heart – where He dwells in us – and make decisions based upon what He’s leading us to do, not just what we may think, feel or want.

When you go beyond what you want, what you think and what you feel and do what the Word and the Spirit of God tell you to do, you are able to develop good habits and break bad ones. You come to a place where the blessings of God – His righteousness, peace and joy – overflow in your life.

Life is simple and peaceful when we come to God like little children and say, “God, I don’t want to live on my own. I want to trust You. When I don’t know what to do, I’ll trust You. When I don’t understand why, I’ll trust You. I’ll do my part with Your help, and when I’m done, I’ll trust You to do the rest.”

This article is taken from Joyce's four-part CD series, Making Good Habits, Breaking Bad Habits.

Is Stress About to Get You Down?

By Joyce Meyer

Stress—the dictionary describes it as "mental, emotional or physical tension; strain, distress." I’d add to that: "feeling pressured or upset." It’s a condition that most of us are all too familiar with. It’s a normal part of everyday life, and none of us can get through a day without experiencing it in one way or another.

We live in a fast-paced world that places more demands on us with each passing year. People are hurrying everywhere, and they’re often rude and short-tempered. Many people are experiencing financial stress, marital stress and the stress of raising children. There’s mental stress on the job and often physical stress caused from overwork. Many times this stressful lifestyle causes health problems, only adding to the stress.

Our bodies were created by God to withstand a certain amount of stress, but when we push ourselves beyond that limit, we begin to experience problems. Are you pushing yourself too hard? Many people today are living in a perpetual state of overload—literally on the verge of collapse. But they continue stretching themselves to the limit… until, like a rubber band, one day they snap.

Even the atmosphere seems to be charged with stress and pressure. But the good news is that, as Christians, although we may be in the world, according to John 17:14, 16, we are not of the world. We don't have to operate by the world's system, reacting like the world. Our attitude and approach should be entirely different. The world responds to difficulties by being upset, but Jesus said in John 14:27 that we should stop allowing ourselves to be agitated, disturbed or upset.

This verse indicates that we need a change of attitude. I’ve noticed that the right attitude and approach can completely turn a situation around. If I approach something in dread, I’m setting myself up for misery before I even begin because dread creates stress. But if I refuse to dread or have a negative outlook, I open the door for God to work supernaturally and help me. The choice is mine.

Jesus didn't promise that we’d never have to deal with stressful situations. In John 16:33, He said, ...In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] This verse teaches us that we don't have to react to stress the way the world does. Because Jesus has deprived the world of its power to harm us, we should be able to approach the challenges we face in life in a calm and confident manner.

Luke 10:19 says, Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you. Here Jesus is telling us that He has equipped us to overcome the world's ways. Even though we’ll be faced with challenging and stressful situations that won’t always be easy to handle, He assures us that nothing can defeat us if we handle things the right way—His way!

An important factor in enjoying a peaceful, stress-free life is learning to be obedient to the Lord. Following the leading of the Holy Spirit will always lead you into peace. He will never lead you into stress, because He is the Prince of Peace. Common sense tells us that God’s not going to stress us out and lead us to do more than we can do; however, we often do this ourselves.

It’s so important not to overcommit ourselves. Do you have too much to do? This seems to be the number one complaint I hear today. "There’s just too much to do and not enough time to do it all." This is often the result of not saying no often enough. Sometimes we say yes and commit ourselves to doing something that we really don't want or need to be doing. We take it on just to keep other people happy. We really need to be careful in this area and make sure that our mouth is not saying yes when our heart is saying no.

We also need to be sure that we're not overextending ourselves by trying to do too many things we want to do, whether it's part of God's plan for us or not. If we’re doing something He hasn’t approved, He’s under no obligation to give us energy to do it. I believe one of the major reasons why many people are stressed and burned out is because they’re going their own way instead of following God's plan. We need to follow the leading of the Spirit as to what we’re to be involved in and where we’re to expend our energy. We must learn to say yes when He says yes and no when He says no. When we’re obedient to His leading, we’ll be able to accomplish what He gives us to do and walk in peace.

Honestly, we aren’t really that capable of running our own lives. That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct us. Romans 7:6 says we are to be led by the "prompting" of the Spirit. I can remember numerous times when I was tired and the Holy Spirit prompted me to rest, but I continued to push myself to go out or to have company. Then I’d end up exhausted, instead of just being tired. As you know, exhausted people usually get grouchy and impatient. This often caused strife in our home, leading to even more stress. If I had been obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the entire problem could have been avoided. Obedience is exalting Jesus above our own natural, selfish desires. Are you exhausted ...or is Jesus exalted? I really believe obedience is the key to victorious, healthy, happy and peaceful living.

Another important lesson I've learned is to "bend so I will not break." The Bible says, ...readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and… if possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:16, 18). Before I made the Word of God a priority in my life and decided to live an obedient life, I had to have my own way. I wasn’t adaptable. I wanted everyone else to adapt to me. Of course, that resulted in more strife and stress. I’ve now learned to bend. It’s not always easy on the flesh to give in and do things differently than I had planned, but it’s easier than being upset and miserable.

A prompting is a "knowing" down inside of you that lets you know what you should do. The prophet Elijah referred to it as a "still, small voice" (see 1 Kings 19:12). While you may not hear an audible voice, I believe you can sense God's wisdom giving you direction in certain situations.

I remember one time when I’d been shopping for several hours and was getting very tired. I had only purchased about half of the items I intended to buy, so I kept pressing on. The prompting of the Spirit within me was telling me to stop and go home, but because I hadn't accomplished my goal, I didn't. Although the other things I intended to get weren’t immediate needs, I didn't want to leave until I accomplished the goal I had set for myself. As I pushed myself beyond the point of being tired, it became difficult for me to think clearly. I then began to become impatient with other people. Even after I finally went home, I was out of sorts, and it affected my time with my family.

If I had obeyed the prompting of the Spirit and gone home to rest and relieve the stress, I would have felt so much better, and the situation at home would’ve been much more pleasant. We can avoid many stressful situations simply by obeying the Holy Spirit's prompting.

Burnout comes from physical and emotional exhaustion, especially as a result of long-term stress. When stress depletes our bodies, our immune systems become weak and sickness (even depression) can set in. Signs of burnout include extreme fatigue, headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems and tensions. Other manifestations may also be your nerves tied in knots or an inability to relax—but the doctor can't find anything wrong. Emotional exhaustion (crying easily), anger, negativity, irritability, depression, cynicism and bitterness about the blessings of others can still be considered burnout syndrome.

Burnout causes you to be "out of control" and no longer producing good fruit. Ignoring God's laws causes burnout. You can’t overwork your mind, emotions or body and not eventually pay the price.

Whose pace are you moving at? Are you keeping the pace God has set for you or someone else's? Are you stressed out from trying to keep up with everyone else? Living under the stress of competition and comparison? A perfectionist with unrealistic goals?

I believe we can live stress free in a stressful world, but it’ll require some decisions—possibly radical ones. Allow God's Spirit to lead you out of a stressful lifestyle and into one of peace and joy. Respect your body. Treat good health and feeling good as a valuable gift. Don’t waste the energy God has given you on stress. Save it for living and enjoying life.

Here are some wise instructions from God's Word to make the practice of peace a part of your everyday life. First of all, be still! Hush. Stop all the rushing around. Psalm 46:10 says, Be still, and know that I am God… (KJV). The Creator of the universe wants a word with you, but how can He really talk to you if you're always on the go? Chill and listen!

Second, prepare your heart to receive from Him—to hear His voice on a regular basis. Oh, that they had such a [mind and] heart in them always [reverently] to fear Me and keep all My commandments, that it might go well with them and with their children forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29). Can you hear the earnestness in God's voice as He makes that statement?

Finally, acknowledge Him in everything you do. Make it a lifestyle to be identified with Jesus Christ and faithfully be a doer of the Word. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 KJV).

"We Do Not War Against Flesh and Blood..."

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Emailing: LexUriServ

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