Saturday, January 26, 2013

Keep God And His Plan In First Place

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

Many people live life with their ideas, goals, and desires in first place trying to find happiness and success without ever considering God and His will.  One thing that will help us greatly is if we put God and His plan in first place in our life and we pursue that.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 that if we put God first then God would add all of the things we need to our life.  You could say that if you put everything else first God won't add the things you need to your life; you will have to do that yourself.

We need to trust God with everything in our life and let Him guide us.  We sometimes get the idea that we are so smart and we have it all figured out as to how we can get all of the things in life that will satisfy us and make our life complete.  The sad truth is that we can pursue our own desires for our entire life, and wear ourselves out doing it, and still never really get to the place of having a satisfying life.  God is a lot smarter than we are and if we would put Him first in everything and trust Him He will guide us along the best path that will bring us joy, peace, and contentment as well as everything else we desire.

Jesus said it was the people who did not have a relationship with God who were always concerned about the daily needs of life.  People who don't put God first are relying on themselves to meet their own needs, as well as their desires, and this will never work.  When we learn to relax and trust God and stop trying to do things on our own it is amazing how well things will work out.  God is a good God and He will always take care of His children.  We all need to put our trust in God and put God and His plan in first place in our life; He will fulfill the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4).

Saturday, January 19, 2013

God's Word Never Changes, It Is Always True

"Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven."
Psalm 119:89 (NKJV)

There are many things in life that are subject to change.  The weather changes from day to day, technology progresses and changes, political leaders change, economic conditions change, styles change, and opinions change.  There are a lot of reasons that things change and often what was once widely accepted changes and is now no longer relevant.  A good example of this is when was the last time you listened to your favorite music on a record or a cassette tape?  Many things in life change but one thing that never changes is God's Word; His Word is forever settled!

Many people are confident that God's Word is it true and wonderful as long as everything is fine and they feel good.  But then, something happens, something changes in their life and a problem comes that they did not expect and their confidence is shaken.  Too many Christians believe God's Word is true up to a point but then they are not so sure; we are sometimes so used to things being subject to change that we take this same view about the Word of God.  No matter what the situation, no matter how we feel, no matter what others might say, God's Word is always true regardless of our circumstances.

We need to settle it within ourselves that no matter what comes our way and no matter how we feel God's Word is settled and it will not change.  One reason we are sometimes not as convinced as we need to be about the truth and validity of God's Word is because we do not spend enough time with it and we do not know God's Word like we should.  Make it a regular practice to spend time reading and studying God's Word and in every situation instead of first checking your feelings, circumstances, or even what other people say, find out what the Bible has to say.  God's Word never changes, it is always true!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

What Do You Do When You Don't Know What To Do?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5, 6 (NKJV)

At one time or another everyone has had the experience of not knowing what to do.  There are several times I can think of where I was at a loss for what to do next, I needed some direction but did not know which way to go.  Not knowing what to do can be very frustrating but how we deal with these situations can mean the difference between coming through to victory or going down deeper into confusion and defeat.  The good news is that there are some keys to successfully coming through these challenging times of not knowing exactly what to do.

First of all we need to be patient; often in this kind of situation we feel pressured to do something but that can be the very reason we are in our current situation!  We need to find God's direction for every area of our life and not just move for the sake of moving.  Secondly, we need to listen and find out exactly what to do so we don't do something that just creates a bigger problem.  Instead of panicking and getting frustrated, get quiet and spend some time with God to see what He has to say about what is happening. Thirdly, we should take a look around and see what we can learn in our current situation.  Why did we get into this?  What can we do in the future so we don't end up here again?

It is good to remember that everyone deals with these situations.  It is also good to realize that God is ready and willing to help us with whatever we may be facing, even if we are the reason the problem developed.  If we put our trust in God and seek His wisdom then no matter what situation we are in He will help us take the right step, in the right direction, at the right time.  Don't just try to figure everything out on your own, look to God and the guidance He will give through His Word and the Holy Spirit; this is the best thing to do when you don't know what to do.