On a run this past Sunday, I came to an EPIC conclusion that I was having an issue that was serving as some sort of life road block, a “peace of mind” road block. I discovered I was having an issue with faith. It seems as of lately, I've lost the ability (not entirely, just temporarily) to trust in God's plan, and to trust that He has ultimate control over what I cannot see (especially the future). I am a strong person, and someone who has spent a large deal of time here lately trying to use that gift to be more responsible, and have been constantly preparing for what’s ahead for myself and my family (and my future family…see where all of this is going?) I believe that your fate ultimately is up to God, however, I also believe in the will of man kind to use the gifts and resources that God has given you, to do your best in life, to contribute to society… it is my belief that it is my responsibility to continually grow and provide for myself and my own, and to use my intuition as communication from God to prepare myself for the future. I think we all are guilty of sometimes getting so caught up in making sure we have things taken care of in life, that we then are lead to preparing for what comes next to a fault. It creates a sort of anxiety and craziness that God does not want for us. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much we prepare—there is such a thing as the inevitable. And it’s going to happen. So I have been practicing the act of letting God take the reigns, and trusting that my hard work, responsibility, kindness, and trust in God's plan will be enough in exchange for God taking care of things. It is such a hard thing to do sometimes when you've lived most of your life being dependent upon yourself… and responsible for yourself. I know I'm not alone in my struggle to trust in the powerful, but sometimes lost, presence of God in my life and the world.
Thankful for this gem I found for today's daily devotional:
(more like, sporadic, whenever I get the chance, needs to happen more often....devotional..)
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
-Colossians 3:15
We all have difficulties, struggles, and challenges, but if we make the mistake of allowing those circumstances to dictate our happiness, we risk missing out on God's abundant life. It was never His intention for us to live one day "on cloud nine," and the next day down in the dumps because we have problems. God wants us to live consistently and enjoy every single day of our lives.
Another negative comes when we focus so much on the future that we get anxious because we don't know what's coming. Naturally, the uncertainty increases our stress level and creates a sense of insecurity. When we get to tomorrow, God will five us what we need. But if we're worried about tomorrow right now, we are bound to be frustrated and discouraged.
Today I’m thankful for all of God’s gifts in my life. I hope I am serving him to a level that pleases Him, and I will be working on my faith in Him everyday as I plan, as I search, as I hope, as I work, as I love, as I live.
