Turn Worry into Worship

     

Our wonderful Savior did not set us free to have us be consumed with worry especially because worry leads to stress. Stress can make us sick both in our soul and physically. I’m not going to dwell on how sick it can make us because we just need to learn not to worry before it turns into such stress that it makes us sick. I want to look at what Jesus said to us about worrying.

      Jesus told us not to worry, He knew we would be tempted to worry but He doesn’t want us to give into it. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life…” Matthew 6:25 (NKJV), and “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6:27 (NLT), this is the teaching Jesus gives us about worrying, He is telling us not to worry from verses 25-34 in chapter 6 of Matthew. This is not a quick little reminder and He isn’t saying to us “Hey if you’re having an exceptionally good day and things are going your way try not to worry”, no Jesus is commanding us not to worry and if we realize that to worry is actually considered sin we would really learn how to stop doing it.

   

      If you are addicted to worrying like I was then you will want to learn how to stop worrying and start worshiping instead because in the eyes of God worrying is sin and not faith and in His word it tells us in Romans 14:23 (AMP), “…For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin….” 

     Worrying is not a form of worship, but you can and should turn worry into worship.

     Worry, it is the sin of unfaithfulness which really does not believe in His faithfulness. God’s faithfulness never fails! The reason Jesus tells us not to worry is because if we are busy worrying then we cannot be busy praising, worshiping and trusting in the faithfulness of our God. He is so faithful that it tells us in Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV) “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Also, the following verses are a perfect reference for what we are about to discover and they are found in Psalm 71:22-23 (NLT), “Then I will praise You with music on the harp, because You are faithful to Your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to You with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel. I will shout for joy and sing Your praises, for You have ransomed me.” These are just a couple of verses but God’s word is full of references to praise and worship. It is how we obtain and sustain a life in Him. It is a very vital part of our walk and relationship with Him and He wants us to do it sincerely and regularly. And God certainly wants us to worship instead of worry, to trust in Him and His answers instead of trust in the world and or live in torment by the enemy which is what can happen if we don’t learn to give our worry up for worship to God.

      Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV), “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” So you see we cannot please God without faith and He wants us to diligently seek Him and some of the ways we do that are to praise and worship Him. Our everyday walk with God is to be a constant giving up of our heart to Him in the form of worship and that can and should include prayer—if the Lord is new to you, praying means talking from your heart through your spirit to God, or talking to God with your heart. We should also include singing unto the Lord a new song, playing music to the Lord, dancing with joy before Him and many other things—even our obedience is a form of worship if what we are being obedient to is done with a loving heart and willing attitude, also our tithe and other offerings are supposed to be given as worship to Him. If we truly love Him and understand just how lost we were without Him then we want our life to reflect that. God’s word says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT), “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Everything we do should be a form of some kind of worship to Him who deserves all our praise, prayer, worship, honor and complete surrender.

    

      The sad thing is that most people (Christians) are more comfortable with such forms of worship as giving of their material and temporal possessions and although sometimes God will require us to give up something tangible to or for His sake, most of the time what He really wants is us. He wants you in complete abandon to Him and you can only do that by giving yourself completely to Him, that means no holding back when you are worshiping Him, no wondering or even “worrying” what others will think because you need only care what God Almighty thinks and if you are in complete surrender to Him in worship I guarantee He thinks it is great and He wants you to keep doing it, every day and all the time.

      Make worship and praise something you do every day and do it with all of your heart and your walk with God will change for the better. You and Jesus will get to know each other in a very intimate and close way and you will learn that He is the one to trust in troubles and worrisome times. 

     

 Praise and worship is an absolute perfect way to stop worrying, and if you learn how to have regular praise and worship with and to our Lord Jesus you can virtually eliminate worry not only from your vocabulary but your life as well. Seriously, because after all, He is worthy of our praise and worship and it is what He wants from us. Exchange your worry for worship and discover a new freedom, one without worry and stress. And here is another wonderful thing about God, serving Him and worshiping Him are one in the same—when you serve you do it unto Him and when you worship Him, He knows you have a heart to serve.

      I find it easier to just let loose and worship God when I remember, it is what we will be doing in heaven for all of eternity so I want to not only get comfortable worshiping and honoring Jesus from earth but I want to do it with everything that’s in me. Yes, think about that, in heaven we will be praising and worshiping Jesus our Lord and Savior forever and always!

      Until we get there we must learn from this side of heaven and we can always learn from our perfect example, Jesus. I think if anyone would have had the right to worry it would have been Jesus as He knew in advance the kind of burden He would have to carry for us and yet He did not worry and He instructed us not to worry either.

     Let’s take a look at a couple of verses which tell us that during what would have been a time in Jesus’ life He would have wanted to give into worry He did not, but instead He sought the Father and His kingdom. I’m sure when Jesus was in the garden asking (praying) if there was any way that He might not have to be crucified He was probably tempted to give into worry but He didn’t. I believe He was praying instead (in-place) of worrying and even though He was so distressed that He began to sweat drops of blood yet He still did not give into that distress, He looked to the Father for His strength, His help, His hope and we see that the Father sent help for Him, it tells us in  Luke 22:41-44 (NLT), “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will but Your’s be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” No matter how much agony we might be in during a trial or troubles the previous verses tell us we can turn to the Father for help and He will give us what we need.

      When I stated that I used to be addicted to worrying maybe you were thinking that seems a little “out there” but, remember, we can literally become addicted to anything. Worrying was just part of the ritual of compulsive behavior I would engage in when the stress of life hit me even though I had Jesus, for a long time I still thought that, yes you pray and give it to God, but I also believed that if I didn’t spend a certain amount of time worrying then I wasn’t doing what was my part to do. I was wrong and I finally started to understand that Jesus doesn’t want us to worry and He also tells us what we can do instead of worrying. We can learn how to seek Him instead of worrying because if what we are doing about issues or needs in our life are anything but going to God with it, casting it upon Him, and then seeking His kingdom it is not what God wants us to do.

       Be set free from the bondage of worry and put on a “new thing” of praise and worship and when you do God will show Himself to you as He never has before.

      You can’t be in the middle of full surrender worship to God and be in a state of worry at the same time, it just isn’t possible! You must be doing one of those things or the other but you CAN’T do both. Choose worship to your Savior instead of worry and you will not regret it. He tells us in Matthew 6:33 (NLT) to “Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”

     Jesus wants us to seek Him in prayer and worship and especially instead of worrying. When we worry the devil knows that what we are worrying about is a weak area for us but so does our Lord and Wonderful Helper, our Prince of Peace and Jesus wants us to trust in Him and look up to Him and heaven and not trust in the things of this world.

      Jesus wants you to use the energy and effort that you would spend worrying to praise Him, seek Him, and trust in Him—and if you truly release your spirit up to Him and give into worship I promise you there is NOTHING on this planet that could ever cause you to worry. You do have to completely surrender to Jesus your Savior, the One who gave His life for you but what would you rather surrender to—the worries of this world or worship and heaven?

     The way to have real intimacy with our God is to give yourself up to worship and fellowship and let the Holy Spirit lead you into a new dimension with Jesus and you will never be the same, and the best part, the more you do it the better it gets and the more effective it becomes. Yes, do it faithfully and watch yourself be transformed into a “worshiper of God” not just one who serves Him but who knows and worships Him in spirit and truth.

~

    

Friends of God

                                 

     Sometimes when we first start out living this new life in Christ we can tend to feel lonely as we give up the ways and people of our past; especially, if we have not yet made new Christian friends. But God’s word tells us that we have a friend in Jesus, He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24) and we can count on Him—always. Also God’s word says, “God sets the lonely in families…” Psalm 68:6 (NIV). Even if you are single or living alone you are never really alone because you are now a member of God’s family so you now have many brothers and sisters.

     When studying God’s word remember that all of the accounts and stories in the bible are true and actually happened unless Jesus was speaking in parables which He did to His disciples and the multitudes that followed Him to help explain something they might not otherwise understand. So when we read the story of Abraham and how he trusted and obeyed God we can see in scriptures of the Old and New Testament that God considered and even called Abraham His friend! James 2:23 (NKJV) “And the scripture was fulfilled which says ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.” Also in Isaiah 41:8 (NIV) it says, “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend.” The promises and privileges of Abraham are also for us today. Wow! I don’t know about you but if I have God Almighty as my friend then how can I possibly be lonely?

      If God and His family are new to you then you might be thinking how can God be my friend when He is my Creator and my God? Here is the truth—God is many things to us who live for and serve Him and I encourage you to read and study His word and you will discover that for yourself. To those who know God well this is a truth in our life and we understand, embrace and proclaim it to others. God is everything to us!

     He is also our friend and we can turn to Him for friendship and companionship and we can know that He is always going to be there, not like the friends we’ve had in the world and in the past, but a friend who doesn’t skip out when things get rough or are not going just the way they want them to. Isn’t that what true friends do? Don’t they hang in there when everyone else has fled? Aren’t true friends the ones who we call upon during the worse possible times? Friends who are good and close friends don’t abandon us because we have been moody or less than pleasant and they are forgiving when we ask for forgiveness but don’t deserve it. Good friends don’t constantly find and dwell on our faults while never seeing the best in us. We all have some good in us, now that God has put His goodness in us, and a friend will look and FIND our rights not our wrongs and they will let us know that on a regular basis.

 Let me tell you, the only place you are going to find friends like that is God and His family. You will not find them in the world because so called friends in the world have ulterior motives when seeking your friendship and they are always going to want something in return for the friendship they offer you, if that is even what to call it—friendship?! In the darkness of addiction people think sharing in their sin or party supplies is an act of friendship, but is it? It is not. They will act as though they want nothing in return but they will expect you to supply them when their supply runs dry and they will remind you of how much they sacrificed to and for you. They weigh and measure the friendship by deeds done to and for each other, reminding you of things they did for you that you don’t even remember or the actual events didn’t happen the way they see it and it was actually you who did the good deed for them?! Does any of this sound familiar? That is not true friendship either, it is the world’s way of showing and expressing friendship, but it is not true friendship and when we have finally known what a real friend is we can finally understand and see that we never actually had friends in the world of addiction. They are what I consider “drug buddies”, “addiction companions”, and “drinking partners”; some were even “enemies” in the guise of friends.

     I think that might be how or why that old cliche' got started, “with friends like that who needs enemies?” It’s true though, and it is heart wrenching when you think you have a friend and you find out in the middle of a crisis that this person you viewed as such a good and close friend has nothing to offer you. They can’t offer you comfort the way God can, His word says in 2 Corinthians 1:3 (NKJV) He is the ”… God of all comfort.” He can and will comfort you the way you wanted your worldly friends to but they didn’t and couldn’t because they didn’t know Him.

     These so called friends ditched you when you needed them the most and they didn't care that you not only needed them but that you were devastated by their abandonment. Friends of addiction will turn on you when you were so sure they never would and they will also turn the wrong done to you into an infraction against them. Yes, when you needed someone the most they not only fled but also turned others against you. Does any of this sound or seem familiar? If you have lived in the world of addiction I know this is so familiar to you that it probably even brings up some of that old pain and hurt. Only dwell on the pain long enough to remind yourself that you don’t want the friendship that the world of addiction offers because it is not true friendship and there is no sense in missing any of that or those people—it didn’t and won’t last, and now you can say thank God for that!

     It is a matter of letting even the meaning of friendship become newly created in your heart and life.

     God Almighty and our Lord Jesus are your new best friends and they will never leave you, forsake you, abandon you or turn on you. The best part is they don’t have some crazy conditions or purpose for pursuing you as a friend, they are simply and completely your friend with no ulterior motives. Doesn’t that sound great and haven’t you wanted a friend like that all of your life? You have one in Jesus. Embrace this new friendship and call on Him to show you how to have a friendship that is true and real and worth all the effort put into it.

    

     The other really great thing about God’s family is when you begin to pursue friendships in the body of Christ you can know that your friends in Christ will literally be the best friends you have ever had. They are friends who will be there for you, and support you, and help you, and instead of turn on you they will pray for you. Now don’t get me wrong people are people so I am not saying you will never again be hurt by people but what I am saying is that your closest friend Jesus and God the Father will lead you into good, safe and healthy Christian friendships if you ask and are obedient to what and who God directs you to. 

     When you are feeling lonely and you haven’t yet made some good Christian friends just talk to God, thank Him that He was a friend of Abraham and He is also a friend of yours. Thank Him that His word and the promises in His word are for you right now, today. Jesus is your friend, the one who sticks closer than a brother so talk to Him as such and tell Him that you want to make and have new friends in the family of God and I assure you that He will bring them into your life and you can learn how to not only have, but also be, a real true friend because now your best friend is God. There is no better friend in the secular world or the Christian world so trust Him and He will bring many new and “true” friends into your life.  

     Hallelujah, we are friends of God!

~

     

Why Me, Lord?

 

    

     How many times have you asked Him that question? Was it a single question or a string of them rolled into one? What I mean is, were you asking Him why you had to suffer the things you have in life or were you asking Him why you didn’t get or don’t have the things you think you want in life? Were you asking Him because you wanted to receive something from Him or because you wanted Him to take something away from you?

     We seem to always be asking for something and sometimes when we get or receive what we think we wanted we realize as soon as we receive it that we didn’t really want it after all. Why is that I wonder? Is it because when we were in the asking mode we were not seeking the will and the plan of God?

     If we knew all that God had planned for us in His great tapestry of things and if we could see just a little bit of what God has in store for us we might not ever ask for anything again unless God was telling us directly to ask Him. He does tell us to ask in His Son’s name and we will receive (John 16:23), but what God means is that we ask according to His will and purpose (1 John 5:14). Knowing His will and purpose requires that we have a close and intimate relationship with Him.

     When we pursue a close and intimate relationship with Jesus we begin to see and realize that the things we used to think we wanted from the Lord aren’t even legitimate requests or wants because we now see that what we should be asking for are the things which will bring what He wants for our lives.

     This new life in Christ is going to bring new desires and wants, but sometimes it takes us a little while to realize that and at first we may still, even if just emotionally, think we want the things of the past. We might think now that we have healed and been set free that we can handle or have certain things in our life that we couldn’t before and that might cause us to ask the whys—why can’t I do it or have it now, Lord? I am stronger and I can handle it now.

      If we’re not careful we can start to lose track of what God has brought us out of and we can even forget (unimaginable, but true), how bad our life was before we surrendered it to Him and let Him deliver us from the bondage of addiction and all the yuck and consequences that come from living that kind of life. How do I know? Sadly I know from personal experience and it is not something I am proud of, but as I always say there is no waste with God so He will use even our backsliding away from Him for His glory and to teach us a lesson. What is the lesson? We cannot do life on our own and we especially cannot do this newly created life on our own, and as soon as we try we will fall!    

     Let’s begin to ask God what should my desires be and how should I pursue them? What are Your wants, goals and desires for me, Lord? These are the questions which God will answer in His great and glorious way and when we get those answers we need to grab onto them, pursue them just as tenaciously as we did our addictions and that lifestyle and watch God change us from the inside out.

    

     We may be going along and doing very well in our walk with God and this new life He has given us, but if we don’t seek Him and what He wants for us we can get tripped up and deceived (yes, deceived) into thinking we don’t need God anymore or at least not as much as we did at first. We might think I don’t use drugs or alcohol anymore; I don’t look at pornography or engage in lewdness or fornication anymore so why do I still need so much of God in my life?  Maybe I only need Him on Sunday mornings when I go to church or maybe I only need Him when I am in a serious crisis—but not all the time. After all I am better now and I don’t do the things I once did. This is a very dangerous mind and heart-set to get into and it is one I guarantee will lead you right back to a life of destruction if you aren’t careful and recognize it when it comes and get your heart and your mind back where they need to be.

     The world has a different answer than God and His kingdom and it is one that says you must be independent and self-reliant and you must learn to handle everything on your own, that way you can escape the pain of others hurting you (or so we think), and you don’t have to answer to anyone except yourself. But there is nothing in God’s word, ways or kingdom that ever tells us we are to do anything on our own, in fact, God doesn’t like it when we ignore Him and try to do things on our own. He considers that seeking something before Him and it is a form of idolatry and or worshiping or relying on someone or something more than we do Him.

     Our whys to God need to be more in the tone of, why did you save a wretch like me? And why do I get to know the healing power of Jesus Christ while others are still bound in their addiction? Or why are You so merciful and good to me God? And why was I chosen to be used by God Almighty in this special way? And then resolve in our hearts and minds that we don’t deserve any of it, but we are grateful to Him that He has done it for us and brought us to where we are in our life.

     I have said this before, but it bears repeating, you cannot maintain your freedom from addiction and your new life in Christ without Him being the center and the Lord of every area of your life! The whys are a manifestation of our heart condition and our closeness to God. If we are asking why we haven’t reached a new level or season in Him and it is His will that we do, He will answer our whys, but if our whys are asking something like—woe is me, why am I always suffering or not getting what I want in life then He might not answer except to show you that those are not the things or whys He is concerned with answering.

     We may be asking why we have to face the trials and struggles we are facing right now in our life, but everything we go through has a godly purpose and reason and we don’t always need to know the why. Sometimes we just need to know that NOTHING we go through is ever in vain—even if it is a mistake or misstep He will use it for His glory so we should keep our hearts and our minds focused on Him and His whys and wants for us.

     God’s whys are so different from ours—they are as such, why don’t you trust Me with every area of your life, and why don’t you seek only Me for your answers? And why do you think I have left you without answers to your questions? Or why do you think your questions are more important than mine?

     Maybe one way we can begin to change the questions we ask God is to understand and remember that we are now living this new life in Him and He wants only the best for us and He never means us harm. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) tells us “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 hope and a future.” If we really take hold of that scripture and live everyday like we believe it and it is the key to our future, I believe we can stop asking our whys and start asking what. What is our part in His great plans to prosper and not harm us, His great plans to give us the future we didn’t have before we let Him deliver us and set us free?  

     The answer to our question, “Why me, Lord?” can be answered this way—Jesus says to each of us no matter what the actual or underlying question is, “You ask, ‘why me, Lord?’, and I answer you—because I love you, I gave My life for you, I have great plans for you and I know what is best for you—that’s why.”

~

    

How To Handle Temptation

     

      Temptation is going to present itself and it is a test you can pass if you look to Jesus and let Him get you through it. God’s word tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV), “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

     This is what you can do when you are tempted to do something you shouldn’t do. First of all, check what you are tempted by with your spirit and ask yourself, “Would Jesus do this and would He want me to do it?” If your answer is a big fat NO, then don’t do it!

     Here is what you can do instead—get the glamorous thoughts out of your head that you are missing out on something. You are not missing out on anything except destruction and devastation. Your thoughts need to be dwelling on the end result of what will happen if you give into temptation and succumb to something you shouldn’t. The end result is destruction and devastation and you already know that, it is the very reason you are seeking freedom from addiction in the first place.  So with thoughts now focused on what will happen if you give into temptation, alternate those thoughts with thoughts of what will happen if you don’t succumb to it.

     “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”, 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV).

     Here is what will happen if you give your weakness to Jesus your Savior and let Him see you through this trial, this test, this temptation—You will become stronger and you will see that if you call out to Jesus and tell Him that you are weak, but you want to grab ahold of His strength, He will impart His strength to you and suddenly you will realize that you got through it without giving in and you now have something to build on for the next test! Yes, there will be a next time, but each time you give it to Jesus and you and Him get through it, you come out of the test or trial stronger in Him and able to turn it over to Him more quickly and more assuredly the next time. Why? Because now you really know that He will not fail you!

     There is such joy when you finally know that you can do this, you can turn your temptation of weakness into a powerful victory in Christ—and if you can do it once, you and Jesus can do it again.

     There is nothing more powerful than a victory over something with and through the strength and power of Jesus. It builds and strengthens your faith and your trust in Him because you have now experienced His strength to overcome your weakness and you suddenly see that it isn’t within you to do any of it, but through Him you can actually do and overcome anything!

     I think it is very important to understand that tempting thoughts of falling, using, giving in or going back to your old ways are just that—thoughts and nothing more than thoughts, unless and until you act on them, so don’t act on them, just don’t.  It is also important to remember that Jesus suffered and was tempted too. Now, he wasn’t tempted to sin because there was no sin in Him, but He was taunted by the enemy with lies to try and tempt Jesus with the “easy way out” to make His life easier, to try and stray Him away from what He was here to do—which was to save all mankind. 

      The bible tells us that He is “…A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…”Jesus took them to the cross for us as it tells us in Isaiah 53:3-4 (NKJV). We do not serve a Savior who has no idea what we are going through, He does and He is here to help us, all we have to do is ask Him sincerely and He will give us all the help we need, Hebrews 4:15-16 (NKJV) tells us, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

     Since we are human we are going to fall. I know that sounds or seems discouraging, but here is the good part, we are forgiven and we don’t have to stay in a fallen state. I have finally come to understand that Jesus died for all of my sin—even the sin I have not committed yet. This seems strange I know, but look at it like this; He wouldn’t have died to pay only for sin already committed with generations of humans still to be created and put on the earth, where would be the atonement for their sin? My point is that if we know that we are forgiven when we sincerely confess and ask Him (because He paid the full price for our forgiveness), then we can get right back on track if we fall or stray from His protection.  He is always waiting and ready to forgive and help you get right back to where you need to be. He does however want us to learn from our willful wanderings, not keep repeating them.  1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLV) reminds us of this, “You have never been tempted to sin in any different way than other people. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can take. But when you are tempted, He will make a way for you to keep from falling into sin.”

     Let’s think about some of the reasons you might have fallen or are tempted to stray in the first place. Let’s consider some questions to get the answers we are seeking: Are you actively pursuing a new life in Christ? Are you falling into agape love with your Savior, the one who set you free from a life of addiction?  Are your “friends” and those you associate with Christians and free from addiction and the bondage it brings? Are you strong enough to be around them if not? If you are not involved with them to help them and share what God has set you free from then maybe you should wait until you know and He has told you that it is time to help others. He would never send you into a situation you were not ready and completely prepared for. So don’t go into a situation He hasn’t directed you into because you will only be setting yourself up to be tempted and possibly fall. Check your motives for what you are doing and who you are doing it with.

     Remember, wherever you go now you take Jesus with you and it is your responsibility to represent Him as the wonderful Savior and Redeemer that He is and if you are not showing that when you are hanging with people then maybe you shouldn’t be “hanging” with them. You are now supposed to influence others to Christ not let them influence you away from Him.

 If you have strayed and fallen the most important thing Jesus wants you to understand is that it doesn’t mean your walk with Him is over—it means that your relationship with Him must get stronger.  He isn’t going to leave you because you slipped up; He is never going to leave you. The devil wants you to wallow in shame and condemnation after you have fallen, but God wants you to receive the forgiveness Jesus paid for and move on in Him and be stronger from now on so that you can stand against it next time. In other words, don’t keep kicking yourself for straying just learn from it and move on, yes even if you stray more than once.

     We are not perfect people, none of us. And how boring would life be if we were? Also, if we were perfect we would not need to seek, walk and abide in Jesus, but we do and He knows we cannot do it on our own. He is the one who tells us this in John 15:5 (NKJV), “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” 

     This new creation you are now becoming is starting to take hold, it is becoming who and what you are and the old you is fading away as you grow stronger in the things and the ways of the Lord. It is exactly what is supposed to happen. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) reminds us of this, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

      Don’t stop now because it only gets better from here on out. Yes, there will be times of trial and temptation, but with each victory over temptation that you and Jesus get through, you will now add to the reservoir of victories you can draw strength from for the next time temptation tries to knock on your door. Yes, there is a reservoir of victories to come and a brand new life in Him. Hallelujah!

~

                                                      

His Ways Are Not Our Ways...Hallelujah!

     God’s ways are not our ways, but now that we are new creations in Him we are learning His ways and we are learning to follow His ways because we now know they are best for us and we now trust our life, our sobriety and our freedom from addiction to Him. 

     We cannot maintain our freedom from addictions without Jesus as the center of our new life. We need all the help we can get from Him and there is unlimited help, we just need to tap into it every day all day long.

     I read or heard once from Joyce Meyer Ministries that even a godly thought directed toward God is considered prayer in the heart of God—I just love that and I firmly believe it. God already knows our hearts inside and out, and He even knows our heart better than we do, so if we are directing our thoughts and desires toward Him and His kingdom we will be in constant communication or communion with Him. If we are in communion with Him we can have the constant help we need to stay free from the things that will harm us and keep us from our Savior. 

     Remember, you are not just working on sobriety; you are building your testimony. I consider it your story of how you and God came to be and the path you are now taking once He turned you to the “light” direction.  God is an amazing God who uses us in ways that we may never even know or understand.  You are now a child of God and He has plans for you and it is to use what you have gone through so don’t lose hope when you are feeling like your life has no purpose. Your life now has God Almighty’s Purpose, and He is just preparing you for what is to come and you want to be ready as He brings this new purpose into your life.  

     When He says His ways are not our ways He means it (Isaiah 55: 8-9), but He isn’t some sort of unapproachable God who tells us His ways are different and higher and His thoughts are different and higher. He tells us this so that we don’t try to trust our own ways as they are futile when it comes to His ways. Besides, haven’t we proven that, by trusting our own ways to the point of our own demise?

      He does tell us that we can reason or talk with Him and Him with us, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” Isaiah1:18 (NKJV). God wants us to know that we can go to Him about anything and everything in our life, and He wants us to know we can trust Him with everything.

     Let’s talk about trust as it relates to the past and now your new life in Christ. 

      When you lived in the mire of addiction you kept trusting in and counting on your so called “friends”, but addicts don’t have friends they have addiction companions—because misery loves company—and that’s it! There is no such thing as trust in that world and anyone who has lived in it knows that I’m speaking truth.

      BUT GOD, came into your life and now you can really know what it is to embrace trust for once in your life. You can trust the one who is a friend like you’ve never had before. He tells us in Proverbs 18:24 both the NKJV and the NIV version are impactful and relevant to what we’re talking about: NKJV, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” And in the NIV, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  His word even says in Micah 7:5 (NIV), “Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips.”  He is not the kind of friend who says “I will be there, I promise”, but then they are nowhere to be found when you really need them! No, He never leaves or forsakes us and He doesn’t just say it, He means it!

     God is not “out to get us” as some would think and He deals with us in kindness and compassion—even if we don’t think He is being kind and loving, He knows what is coming in our life, so we need to trust Him. 

     I used to think that God was not very patient and of course not very compassionate either, but His word tells us otherwise and now that I am pursuing an intimate relationship with Him I know His word and His ways enough to know that God is kind and very compassionate and loves to deal with us in that way.

     “…Because His compassions fail not…they are new every morning...” and, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”  And there are more supporting scriptures—some of them can be found in: Lamentations 3: 22, 23, 25, 32, and 33 (NKJV).

      We can trust Jesus as our true friend and God the Father as our loving Father, not like some father’s in the world who might have been absent, abusive and or neglectful.

     God the Father wants us to know that He loves us and because of that love He will correct and chasten us, just as any loving father would. He is The- Father- of- all- father’s and He never means us harm, and He can only correct us toward what is good and right for us. Our Father in heaven can never lead us wrong or astray and He will never inflict undue or unnecessary pain or harm on us, He just won’t, it is NOT His nature.

     Remember we talked before about not licking our wounds and not catering to our pain, but instead let God cater to it. Let’s look at some of the ways He does this—first of all we have the privilege of casting all our care upon Him, His word tells us this in 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm 55:22, God wants us to cast our cares upon Him and let Him bring about the answers to the situations we face each day. This includes giving us strength when we need it to overcome temptation and stand strong in this new freedom from addiction.

      He cares for us in our hurting and pain, it matters so much to Him that His word tells us that He not only hears and answers our prayers, but our prayers are saved up in heaven, “…the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders…each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people”, Revelation 5:8 (NIV). God also saves the tears we cry, “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” Psalm 56:8 (NKJV).  In Psalm 4:8, He keeps us safe when we sleep at night and He gives us His peace.

      When we speak of His peace there is nothing to compare it to—by that I mean it isn’t earthly so nothing on earth can compare to it.  But He does tell us this about His peace, John 14:27 New Life Version says this, (“Jesus Gives His Followers Peace”) “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give peace to you as the world gives...”  He even suffered physical pain for our peace as it tells us in Isaiah 53:5. Also, in Philippians 4:7 Paul tells us that God’s peace surpasses all understanding, and all through His word He is referred to as the God of Peace!

      This is not the kind of peace that we have ever experienced before and we should cherish it as such. Hold on to His peace and never let it go. Let His peace keep you and strengthen you during tempting times, during trying times, during those times when you know you will make it, but those around you aren’t quite convinced yet and because of that you are feeling discouraged.

     With the peace of God our Father and His own peace Jesus gave us, we are completely equipped and prepared to journey with Jesus down this path of no more addictions. We are now in pursuit of His plan for our life and that is a completely new path, it has twists and turns that we are not used to. But we can get used to it and that’s what this new journey is all about—learning His ways. Don’t give up, soon enough those who weren’t quite convinced that you are a new creation will be completely and thoroughly in awe of what our Great God has done in you and they are going to want it too!  So keep going because there is joy to come and a harvest to reap and a brand new life to live—and Jesus is the closest, stick it out when things get tough friend, you have ever had or ever will have.

     Trust and follow His ways and they will take you down the path that leads to Him and His eternal purpose and the place that is being prepared for you in heaven.

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