In God We Trust

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also.

(Matthew 6:21 NLT)

Money isn't evil, money is what WE make of it - we can use it for good or for bad.  We recently started Dave Ramsey's 'The Total Money Makeover', I learned so much about biblical principles for paying debt off and building a nest egg (and really so much more), so if you have been like us and have struggled with finances - do yourself a HUGE favor and check out his book! I've always been a clinger when it comes to money, afraid to let it go, hoard it for my security, but that's the wrong attitude as well. I'm putting too much faith into a dollar bill when I need to be putting my faith into God - Jehovah Jireh is my provider, not my husband's paycheck.  

"Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more in their wickedness." (Psalm 52:7 NLT)

Today I was staring at the inscription on our money, "In God We Trust", and it all made perfect sense to me - our currency is nothing without God.  Money, wealth, and possessions will come and go, but if we put our trust in God, we won't have to worry about the next paycheck or the next bill that comes due.  If we're struggling with our finances we need to focus on what Jesus said...

"So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (Matthew 6:31-32 NLT)

Trusting God and Building Your Faith

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

When life is good, trusting God is easy. When life is in turmoil, trusting in God is a battle of faith. I believe without a doubt that God wants to bless us and that the bad things that happen aren’t God’s desire for us at all. I also believe that God can deliver us from the trials that we endure, but sometimes during the difficult times we can learn something more valuable: Faith by Trusting in God. 

When you’re at the end of your rope, that’s when God can work miracles. Last year, I went through what I thought was the most difficult time of my life; my faith grew despite not receiving the miracle we prayed for. I didn’t give up on God, I didn’t blame God, and sometime after, I was able to see how God could still use that event for His good.

As Christians, we understand that life isn’t easy - we are constantly under attack by the enemy. So when my current trial came up on me, it was no suprise. The enemy knows when we’re weak and he knows exactly how to attack us. We have to remain strong, we can’t give him any slack, that means staying in God’s Word, Praying and Serving God. We know about the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and it’s importance, so if we want to defeat the devil, we have to stay vigilant and prepared. 

This time, I let my guard down, I let the enemy gain a foothold on me when I allowed my feelings of anxiety, fear and depression to take over instead of turning to God's Word. To quote C.S. Lewis, “Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances.” It’s so much harder to fight when the tide is already against you, don’t allow the enemy to gain any ground. We must recognize the attack and pick up our armor and continue to fight. Don’t give in, instead dive in - dive into the Word of God. 

The word of God, you see, is alive and moving; sharper than a double-edged sword; piercing the divide between soul and spirit, joints and marrow; able to judge the thoughts and will of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 VOICE)

When the enemy whispers your worst fears, you have to be able to fight back with God’s promises for you. The Apostle Paul knew this all to well, that’s why he taught us that in the Armor of God, to pick up God’s Word - the sword of the Spirit, to fight against the enemy.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV)

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT)

My favorite passage to turn to lately has been Psalm 23, I can read it in any version and feel God’s peace and presence. When you feel overwhelmed or don’t think you can overcome your current situation pick up the sword of the Spirit and fight off the enemy, memorize a scripture that soothes your soul and pray for God’s peace, strength and comfort. I have to remind myself often of this verse and today I discovered this wonderful note in The Voice translation that I wanted to share:

You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit. 
*God’s gift of faith is like a flame, and when the embers of the fire have cooled you must fan them again and keep them ablaze. (2 Timothy 1:7 VOICE)

Just Trust

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6 NKJV)

I’ve often been amazed at how complex we can try to make life, when God has a  simple solution for us. So many times we try to force how we think things should go, when we cannot even conceive the thoughts of the Creator of the universe. He has reminded us that His wisdom is not the world’s wisdom.

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25 NLT)

Sometimes we’ll let our pride get in the way or maybe even think, that’s okay God, I got this. God never tests us to see if we can handle a challenge, but He will wait to to see if we trust in Him to get us through whatever situation we have gotten into.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:5-7 NLT)

When we’re told to fear the Lord, it’s not about being scared, it’s about reverence and respect; the way a child wants to please their parents because of the love, not because of fear of getting into trouble. Jesus told us that we didn’t need to carry our burdens, He came so we could be free from those worries.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)

Once we can give those burdens up, once we can let go and let God – we’ve given God complete and perfect trust in Him and not in ourselves. It’s at the point, that we can learn the freedom that God has had for us all along.

Day 2 of 21-Day Challenge: Warriors Weep Too!

Somewhere along the way, the process of crying became seen as a weakness. I know I get upset if I cry in public, it’s bad enough that I’m upset enough to cry, but to have someone see me – what must they think of me now? I’m human, we cry, it’s part of our DNA, but yet when we cry we become ashamed of those tears showing our true emotions.

But David said to him, "You come to me using a sword and two spears. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken against him.  Today the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll kill you and cut off your head. Today I'll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel! Everyone gathered here will know the Lord does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him, and he will hand you over to us."  As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. He took a stone from his bag, put it into his sling, and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine and went deep into his forehead, and Goliath fell facedown on the ground.  So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand. Then David ran and stood beside him. He took Goliath's sword out of its holder and killed him by cutting off his head.  (1 Samuel 17:45-51 NCV)

One of my favorite people from the Bible is David, he was a mighty warrior of GOD. He stood before a giant with just a sling shot and before he threw a single stone, he gave that giant a verbal smack down.    He was so confident in GOD having his back, that he didn’t hold back a single insult.  So when he took down the giant, he ran to cut off his head; he didn’t hesitate, he knew he was taking down the giant. There was never any doubt in his mind that GOD would deliver Goliath to him; that is trust. You would imagine if you just shot someone you would pause and be amazed that you were able to take them down, but not David, he was expecting it. This warrior of GOD fought in so many more battles, that songs were song by the people about him slaying 10,000 men; this isn’t a man afraid of anything.

I am worn out from sobbing.  All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.  (Psalm 6:6-7 NLT)

David wrote this Psalm, GOD’s mighty warrior said he was crying, not just crying, today we would call this type of sobbing, ‘bawling’, about the problems he was having. David was so upset about the circumstances that he was dealing with it; he said he flooded his bed with tears! Not only is David admitting he sobs, he’s not ashamed of his tears; he writes this down to be shared with all of GOD’s people!

But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.  (Acts 13:22 NLT)

GOD said that David was a man after HIS own heart, what child of GOD wouldn’t want that to be said about them! So we can be a strong warrior of GOD and also a child that sobs when our circumstances are more than we can bear. David might weep when he’s under pressure and can’t see the end of his trial, but that doesn’t mean he gave up on GOD. No, David never stopped trusting that GOD would deliver him!

Go away, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer.  (Psalm 6:8-9 NLT)

While David was still in the midst of his storm, he did not waiver in his faith in GOD, he said that the Lord heard his cries; the Lord had heard his prayers and the Lord WILL deliver him. While we’re in the middle of a crisis, it’s hard to imagine that anything good will come from it. It’s natural to imagine things only getting worst and never getting any better, but our GOD is supernatural. Our GOD sees the beginning from the end, HE knows what’s going to happen before it does. HE has a path for us and when roadblocks and detours come about, HE’s not surprised. HE knows how to get us to our destination, the bumps in life that we go through aren’t put there by GOD, but HE can navigate us around them and use those circumstances to strengthen us and to bless us.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)

GOD never said the journey would be easy, but HE did say HE would never leave us. The trials we go through can bring us to our knees, and it’s okay to weep and cry out to GOD to deliver us. When you pray for GOD to rescue you, know that the rescue is on its way; but the timing is not what you want, it’s what you need!