Day 7 of the 21 Days: Rest in God

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ~2 Corinthians 12:9

To be completely honest, I was not feeling this particular consecration message. In order for me to get a better understanding, I decided to go and read the message in context and it bugged me even more.

Here is Paul, a great servant of God, going on an on about all the bad things that have happened to him while on his mission.

... I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once, I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ~2 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NIV)

He goes on and on for the whole chapter like this, and he is proud of it. It is almost as though he welcomes it. Then in 12:7-8 he says "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Stan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me."

This does not endear me to the cause. This makes me want to run in the opposite direction except Paul is at peace with it. I am aware that as we get closer to God and closer to where He wants us to be that the world will come against us even more. For what joy and peace God has already given me, I could understand why Paul pushes on. God makes it worthwhile. In reality, if we rest in Him during the rough times in our lives they do not become so rough anymore. They become mild annoyances that through God we overcome and triumph.

In truth, if my life had been great and I did not feel that everything around me was coming apart, I would not have gone to God. I would not have turned to his path and rest in him. Now that I have, my problems do not seem as serious. Evil has no power over us, if we only trust in God. Even in the midst of our trials God makes it okay. Thankfully, Paul's burdens are not my own.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for letting me know that the greatest effort you expect from me is the exercising of my faith. I also thank you for letting me know that when I am weak your strength is greatest…when I am discouraged, you are there to encourage me, when I have run out of energy, you become my energy…therefore, I thank you for directing me to rest in YOU…In Jesus Name, Amen
Prayer is from Brother Ron Jones at NEW AND LIVING WAY OUTREACH MINISTRIES

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do Something Different

Image
Do something different. Shake your life up a bit. Our brains are funny little 3 pound masses that can take us for a loop and we are still learning so much about it. As much as I enjoy having a routine in my life because it gives me the illusion of having control, variety is also key for cognitive health. Soomi Lee, PhD, assistant professor in the USF College of Behavior and Community Sciences reports "findings suggest that active and engaged lifestyles with diverse and regular activities are essential for our cognitive health." I am not a regular baker but I wanted to do something different. I have not baked in quite some time and I probably won't even eat all the cake but it was a fun and different activity to do. So even if you do not do something drastic. Shaking things up even a little bit can help change the trajectory of your thought, attitude and day.  Article Source:  Variety and consistency are essential to keep the mind health My related Tiktok below @wandatob
Read more

Redirect Your Focus away from Lizzo

Image
Redirect Your Focus away from Lizzo Scroll down to listen to the podcast here Recently a comedian has been under fire for making hurtful comments toward the artist Lizzo about her weight. Aries Spears in an attempt to be funny mocks Lizzo about her weight and her looks. He also goes on to say that he can get away with being a big dude and women cannot. He then attempts to pivot in a spectacular show of hypocrisy that instead of supporting her expressions of confidence women should be pointing out potential health issues linked with obesity. Sir! What are you doing? I really wanted to take this opportunity to point out that we as a people, as a nation should be less focused on individuals and more on the industry that’s putting crappy overprocessed foods on the shelves. They are appealing to our need for convenience. They are using science and psychology to influence us to buy these crappy foods. And let's face it, who doesn’t love a good sweet or salty snack or fast food that we ca
Read more

Bust Off That Gut With the Insanity Workout

Image
Bust Off That Gut With the Insanity Workout By Carl Barton It can be quite the dizzying experience trying to find the right workout regimen when a person decides to get back into shape. In many cases, it takes a high level of commitment to stay on track with whatever kind physical of activity and/or diet that is chosen. For people who truly desire results and have a high motor, the Insanity Workout could be the right option for a variety of reasons. The Insanity Workout is a high energy workout routine that works on the interval training method. The interval method stresses a period of high activity followed by a period of low activity. This is the key to workout regimen because it warms up muscles, builds them up, and acts as a lactic acid conditioner. By building up a lactic acid tolerance, muscles become stronger while building up someone's endurance. When applying this kind of aerobic training to the human body, the pyramid system is a base model for the workout routine.
Read more