Lay Those Burdens Down and Pick up GOD's Promises

How often do you pray to GOD to help you with a burden and then after you lay it down, end up picking it back up when something else is added to it? Do you ever pick it up and start worrying over it again, pick it up and think GOD’s too busy for this, I’m sure I can figure something out… Part of the faith walk is leaving those burdens behind and keep trusting in GOD, trusting that in HIS time it will be taken care of.

‘For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’ (Matthew 11:30 NLT)

Walking by faith means trusting GOD no matter the circumstances around us. GOD didn’t put those road bumps, difficulties and pitfalls in our path, but HE can use any situation to teach us what we need in our journey with him.

‘Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from the beginning to end.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT)

Some people insist that their problems are too small for GOD and they don’t want to bother HIM with their ‘stuff’.

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. (1 Peter 5:7 AMP)

In the Greek translation, the word used for ‘all’ is the Greek ‘pas’ and this word is literally translated into ("each, every") means "all" in the sense of "each (every) part that applies." The emphasis of the total picture then is on "one piece at a time."  (ananeóō) then focuses on the part(s) making up the whole – viewing the whole in terms of the individual parts.

Do you see that ALL our cares, ALL our anxieties, EACH and EVERY little detail that makes up our anxieties are to be cast upon Jesus – there is no tiny detail that JESUS wants left out, HE wants us to bring HIM everything to HIM!!

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). (Psalm 55:22 AMP)

What’s good about starting with the small stuff, is that when we see GOD’s faithfulness in answering those smaller issues, we have built our faith up enough that bringing HIM the bigger issues are second nature and without thought. The faith walk is a trust walk, we trust that GOD will answer our prayers; we lose our worldly way of thinking and begin to think in the Kingdom of GOD  way.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus spoke of the faith of a child? Because a child doesn’t question when they are told something, they believe it, it is fact - period: “You stole my nose!” and/or “Santa/Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy is coming”.  We are given a whole Bible filled with GOD’s Word and we still have doubts. Doubt is what happens when you’ve lived in the ‘world’ too long – we learn to doubt and we learn to distrust. This world is ruled by Satan and that’s his job, to keep us from receiving all that GOD has for us. When we buy into the enemies lies, ‘miracles are of the past’, ‘GOD doesn’t heal today’, ‘that’s prosperity teaching and it’s not for us’.

If you are a Believer and you believe the Bible is GOD’s Holy Word and that GOD is truth and GOD is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow – then you don’t need to be concerned with the devil’s lies because our GOD is a GOD of miracles, a GOD that heals, a GOD that wants to bless you with an abundance!!

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. (Luke 10:19 AMP)

In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides] (Ephesians 6:10 AMP)

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. (1 John 4:4 NLT)

There’s our authority, we have Christ in us, we are empowered by the same Spirit of GOD that raised Jesus from the dead! With the Holy Spirit living in us, we are given the Authority of Christ, with that authority we can do all that Jesus told us we could do!

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! (Matthew 10:8 NLT)

Did you see that Jesus told us to heal, HE didn’t say, ‘go pray to GOD for healing, HE said go and heal’! The devil’s greatest deception has been using ‘wolves in sheep clothing’ to tell Believer’s that we can’t have what GOD’s Word ALREADY told us we have!

Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves. (Matthew 7:15 NLT)

Our minds have to be renewed to GOD’s way, not the world’s way, that’s why we HAVE to immerse ourselves in the Bible, immerse ourselves in the promises of GOD and refuse to listen to the lies of the enemy. The devil can’t take from us what is already ours, but he can lie to us and keep us from experiencing the promises that GOD has for us.

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.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT)

GOD’s promises are so great that the enemy wants desperately to keep us from them, because when he keeps Believers in bondage from his lies, we aren’t able to fulfill all that GOD’s wants to give us and all that GOD has planned for us to bless and encourage others.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge (Hosea 4:6a AMP)

If you renew your mind with the Word of GOD, it will become second nature to you speak out the Word of GOD and to believe it without fail. Faith walking and trust walking can only happen if you keep the Word flowing from your heart so that it pours out of your mouth! Alter your thoughts to GOD’s will for your life, there you will find all the promises that GOD has for you and that is when you see those promises come to be!

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34 NIV)

Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. (Romans 12:2 AMP)

Stay Alert!

1 Peter 5:8

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

Stay alert, or be vigilant, don’t let your guard down, when you hear those words you know you need to be on the lookout for something and be prepared. The next part of the verse tells you the reason you need to be cautious, you have an enemy and he is a liar, a thief, and a killer. When you think of all the bad things in the world, it begins with the enemy. He is roaming around and looking for someone to attack with a fierce hunger that can never be satisfied, so my question is, when you know you have a lion waiting for you, do you go out without your weapons or armor?

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:10-12 

The first rule of battle is to know your enemy. You must know who you are fighting against and you must know how they attack so you can be prepared. You have to know what is of GOD and what isn’t, even the devil and his demons can quote scripture, just used out of context. The best defense is a good offense, so read your Bible, read it daily, memorize scriptures that you can hold to when you are attacked.  And when someone gives you scripture, look up that scripture and read the chapter, read the footnotes and references, know the scripture and know the truth.

When the devil attacks, hold fast to your shield of faith so you can block those arrows (thoughts of defeat, self-doubt,  fear, reasoning and practicality) and cling to your sword the word of GOD. (see the whole armor of GOD in Ephesians 6:10-18) When Jesus was being tempted by the devil for those 40 days, everytime the devil would tempt Jesus, Jesus would use the sword of the Spirit, the word of GOD. (see Luke 4:1-13).

Discern what is from GOD (joy and peace can only come from GOD).And know that the devil will rob you of your joy, load you down with depression, he will steal your peace and try to kill something in you. If GOD gives you a promise, hold to that promise with faith. When we start to doubt those promises, we are stopping the will of GOD and helping the devil. You need to be able to stir yourself up for the Lord. You need to know you cannot go by your ability, but by GOD’s ability and by HIS ability, there is no stopping you! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13  We can do ALL things, but we do have our part to do; we must stay strong in our faith, with perseverance and patience.

  

The lion watches for the wounded, lone, helpless, (those that aren’t prepared, don’t know what they are up against, don’t know they are in a battle, and/or don’t use their armor of GOD), those are the perfect prey for the devil. I remember a story once of pastor who came to visit one of his church members, who had stopped going to church. On that cold wintery day, the two didn’t have much to say to one another, the pastor removed a coal from the collection of coals in the fire, the lone coal went from red to black as the coldness of its surroundings became more than the heat of the group of coals it was with, until it finally had just burnt out; the illustration that the church member who left the congregation, his fire within would grow cold and die without the rest of the church to strengthen and encourage his fire for GOD.

You have to know what to resist and what to yield to, they are not interchangeable. You don’t want to resist GOD and yield to the devil, so use your armor so you are resisting the devil and yielding to GOD. The devil is a reasoner, always questioning what GOD is telling us, he defeats us with practicality. The devil uses our human doubt to reason away GOD’s ability, we convince ourselves that we couldn’t possibly accomplish what GOD told us we could, when it was never our ability, if GOD gave us a job to do, it’s going to be based on HIS ability not ours. GOD created the heaven and the earth, he knows our thoughts before we think them, so how are we to tell GOD that HE overlooked this one part of HIS plan?

When GOD gives you a word, do you get excited, do you get pumped, do you feel like you can anything? Then when you’re at that mountain peak, the devil shows up and starts telling you all the reasons why you can’t do what GOD told you, you could. Your joy is lost, your excitement is gone and you start to fear, and then all the reasons why something isn’t possible, or say it’s just not practical, that’s when you’re listening to the enemy. GOD doesn’t need something practical or complex reasoning, he created you from dust, he doesn't need anything from you, except your faith. 

Don’t let fear govern you, the enemy is trying to make you settle, when GOD doesn’t want us to settle. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”  Ephesians 3:20 Did you catch that, HE is able to accomplish infinitely more than we can even imagine!! HE is a GOD of abundance, when you give GOD your faith, your faith is rewarded: “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6:38 Amen, that’s the kind of GOD we serve, we never deserve HIS grace, but HE is always faithful in his loving-kindness to HIS children with HIS endless mercy and everlasting love.