THROUGH CHRIST

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

ARE YOU SEEKING?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I got a pretty “distressed” call yesterday afternoon.  A good friend, a strong and I mean strong and dedicated follower of Jesus, a true source of encouragement for others had been knocked off her feet and she was at the breaking point.

Life was winning and she was in a word, OVERWHELMED.

Now listen before I continue this is no “run of the mill” Jesus-follower I am talking about. This one can “take a punch” when it comes to adversity. So for her to raise the white flag and feel like giving up just doesn’t happen.  She is a TIMEX watch (takes a licking…you know) J.

But yesterday was a different story.  She was OVERWHELMED.

Like my friend, it is not uncommon for any of us to run up against things that are bigger than us; things and circumstances that loom so large or seem so enormous that we simply cannot overcome in our own strength. It may be outside trials or be an internal battle like a lust that threatens to consume us, our addiction that repeatedly trips us up, a resentment that is growing inside us, or a sorrow that seems to paralyze us.  We all have that “it” that from time to timeseeks to get the best of us.

But I want to encourage you this morning to remember something.

1 Corinthians 10:13

The Message (MSG)

 ¹³No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

When dealing with a big “IT”, we need to shift our focus from the source of the issue to the source of the solution.

Oh, we will grit our teeth, hunch our backs, and seek to make it through by sheer determination. We will tell ourselves we can overcome if we just try hard enough.

Yet GOD doesn’t ask us to do any of that.  He actually encourages just the opposite.  He says, DISENGAGE; step back, step down and let HIM handle it.

But boy oh boy we sure don’t like doing that do we?

We say things like, “I got it.” “Appreciate the help, but I’m good.”

But like I told my friend, there are just some old tried and true “truths” that “just work” in times like this.

Like this one.

Philippians 4:13

New Century Version (NCV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.

An old and familiar verse reminding us again that the strength for these “overwhelming” situations does not come from us, or from our own willpower but from Jesus Christ who has the power and deliverance we need.

I know it is a familiar passage, one we use all the time, but HOW OFTEN when the heat is on do we forget it?

Exactly!

So today if you are being knocked around or overwhelmed, ask some questions.

“How can I make it through this trial”?

Through Christ.

"How can I overcome that temptation or addiction?

Through Christ.

How can I rise above my grief or depression?

Through Christ.

There is nothing that you cannot do through the strength that Christ has promised to you. I don’t care how big, how ugly, how ill-timed the issue, or if this is your first battle with “IT” or your 99,995^th battle with “IT”, turn to Him my friends, and find the confidence, the joy, the strength that is found where?

Through Christ.

Have a blessed weekend

I love you all