Spirituality Guide

The pastor told an interesting story today during the sermon, and I just wanted to take a moment and share it with you. It seems that even when we’re afraid or lonely, God has always got an answer for our problems, if we just keep our eyes and our hearts open.

Dad had just put his daughter down for bed for the night. She couldn’t seem to settle in. She kept asking for water, for the bathroom light to be on, for Dad to come back in and check on her just “one more time.” It seemed she was calling him every five minutes to do something for her. Dad finally told her to settle down and go to sleep. She answered him in frustration saying she was scared and couldn’t go to sleep. Dad told her that Jesus was with her, He would protect her and there was no reason for her to be afraid. The little girl’s answer is priceless. She said to her dad, “I know Jesus is with me. I know He protects me. I know He’s looking over me and watching over me. But, I need somebody with some skin!”

Whenever we feel afraid or lonely (because even as adults, yes, we do get afraid), God has people all around us who can help get us through tough times and dark days. He said that He would never leave nor forsake us. He’s with us always, even until the end of the earth.

So, when you’re afraid, find somebody with some skin.

The way to learn the fear of God is to understand and implement respect. Know that God is powerful, but more importantly, act like He is too. Let’s not try to bail ourselves out of our own situations or to fix someone else’s situations that we feel strongly about. Take each and every situation to God, pray and ask His guidance on whatever the problem is. He wants to, will and can fix it a whole lot better than we can. He’s God. And when we are at a loss as to what to do, just do nothing. Respect God by honoring Him as such and being mindful of the power that His abilities carry. Remember parting whole oceans? That’s what He did. And remember droves and droves of bugs and the sun standing still for periods of time? God did that. And, He does things like these in our everyday lives too. The sickness that just disappeared without a trace. God. The bills that went away and you know you didn’t pay them. God again. There’s just no way around it. And I for one am inclined to not only respect that but to see that no matter what I do and how I try, I can’t fix things myself. Only God can. And I am in awe of Him for it.

God’s love is so amazing and so inexplicable, He doesn’t want to see us fail or falter, never. He does not enjoy seeing us unhappy, nor does He get satisfied with “gotcha’s”. That’s just not God’s way. So, with the knowledge of knowing that God is going to love us no matter what, that He’s on our side no matter what poor choices that we make and that He answers us no matter good or bad, we can walk assuredly and safely in the knowledge of GOD IS. When we begin to know Him and establish a relationship with Him, we learn then that His power is so overwhelming, so far beyond our control that it’s hopeless to try and be any other way but in awe of Him. Or in fear of Him. Not trembling fear, but more like a ‘wow’ fear. We can’t change our situations if our lives are predetermined. We certainly cannot change God’s mind. So the only thing that we can change is how we reverence God and the relationship that we have with Him.

What’s funny is that I also remember as a child, I very rarely if ever got away with anything. My folks usually found out what I was doing even when I didn’t know that they knew. I was just a child and I actually thought I was fooling my parents - - adults who had been living and experiencing things a whole lot longer than me. But that’s the mind of a child and how a child thinks. We as adults are not children. We are far beyond the immaturity and simple thinking of “God won’t find out if I do this”, or, “God doesn’t see me so it doesn’t count”, or even worse, “God loves me so much, He would never do anything to punish me”. Yes, God is love. Yes, He is merciful. But He’s also fair. If we do something that warrants consequences, we will suffer those consequences. The same thing that we would do or impose upon our own children whom we love dearly, are the same or similar consequences that we can expect for God to have on us. Don’t expect too little or nothing because He’s God.

I am amazed every day of His awesome power and his merciful spirit. I am humbled by the idea that a God who created the heavens, the earth and created life would think so much of me that He loves me and wants me to be His no matter how raggedly I live.

That’s awesome.

I can remember as kids, we used to try and get away with stuff when our parent’s weren’t looking. I’m sure all kids tried this. It’s nothing new, really. Whenever we do something that we shouldn’t, we hope no one is looking or no that no one finds out what our not-so-good deed was. As I was thinking on how we try to outsmart God sometimes, my mind went to the text in Proverbs 1:7 that says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Does that mean we are to tremble and be afraid of an almighty God? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that to fear God means that we have realized that our abilities are limited, finite while God is a powerful God whose knowledge and abilities far surpasses ours. We would do well to honor him as such.

Now God is not a bully on the playground, beating you up every time you do something wrong. He’s not concerned with trying to make you feel bad or to be afraid of Him. What God’s point is this: He wants you to realize that your life, your destiny is already predetermined. If you are going to do His will, walk in His way, then just allow Him to lead you and show you the way through His spirit. Too often, we don’t understand what’s happening to us, so we want to take control of the situation and do it our way. The majority of the time, we may be doing something wrong and need God’s help to get us out of a bad situation. That’s usually always me. Is there anything about God that you’re fearful of or that makes you afraid?

I’ll tell you mine tomorrow.

A life where everyone gets along, where everyone is happy and where life is one big peaceful bliss. That life that may seem to some to be elusive can be had. All we need to do is to change our thinking and the way we approach life every day. When we just exist for the sake of existing, we open ourselves up for disappointment and grief. When we fight against life, fight each other and go against the grain of things, we open ourselves up for disappointment and grief. When we can’t find the positive in anything, think everything is horrible and ugly, we open ourselves up for disappointment and grief. I for one want to be happy in and with life. To be satisfied with myself. Therefore, I have made a vow, a conscious attempt if you will to not only be happy and peaceful, but to get along with those around me as much as possible to ensure my peace and sanity in this life. That’s my vow and that’s my goal.

What’s yours?

Gambling your relationship with God is no different at all than gambling at the dog track or the casino. If you place your relationship with Him on a chance - a chance that He will answer when you call, a chance that He will provide a way out of that situation (again), a chance that no matter what you do or where you go, He will always be your out.

Having a meaningful, full and productive relationship with God requires three things:

1. Diligence - If you are diligent and focused in your relationship with God, you will see results. Being consistent and determined will become glowing characteristic in your Christian lives. Be determined in your prayer life. Be determined in you service towards others.

2. Faithfulness - Practice increasing your faith each day with an emphasis on learning more about Him through His word. Set a schedule that is flexible with your busy life and spend a few minutes each day in quiet time or in reading time. the rewards of this will be seen in years to come.

3. Honesty - Be honest, open and frank with God. He knows and has all of the answers anyway. You can’t fool Him ayway. Tell God your fears and concerns. Tell Him everything that is on your heart heavy. He really is there for us.

These are just some suggested things you can use to find that meaningful relationship with God. But, whatever you decide to do to honor God, just do it with your heart. Don’t take a chance.

Do you know when to say enough is enough? As a Christian, do you sometimes feel like you have to take everything that people do to you? What about when you know and it’s obvious that someone is doing you wrong…should you take it because as Christians that’s what we’re “supposed” to do? I feel sometimes that the body of Christ is taken advantage of and that the “saved” card is played a little bit too much. We’re told that we should act and be a certain way because we’re Christians. Does that mean we’re to be stepped on and trodden upon all for the sake of being named “the saved”?

What’s interesting to me is how people will react to you when you react, to anything! They look at you as if you’re from another planet, or they look in wide-eyed disbelief that you could “say” such a thing or “do” such a thing. What’s really amazing is that they can do and say anything they want to do to you, but they don’t want you to react or say anything back that would indicate that you don’t like what they’re saying.

As Christians, we do have a duty to hold up certain standards. My sister-blog over at lifeasachristianwoman.com agrees too. But, we do not, and I do mean we do not, have to take any kind of bullying from anyone. Just because we’re Christians doesn’t mean we’re doormats. Bullying and abuse are just un-acceptable.

Do you agree?