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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Trusting In The God Of The Present: Part 1


The supreme purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. However, one of the greatest obstacles to fulfilling that purpose is anxiety and fear. Anxiety is inner turmoil, distress or fear. Unfortunately, some of us all are all too well acquainted with fear and anxiety.

What does the bible say about anxiety?
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil. 4:6
The word careful here means anxious. So be anxious for nothing! Sometimes in our brain it is easier said than done.

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" Matthew 6:25.

"Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?"  Matthew 6:27
Fearing and having anxiety is pointless and robs us of precious time in our life. Who can add or take away one second from their life when a holy and sovereign Lord is in control?

There are so many instances throughout the scripture where men feared and had their own anxieties. One instance being the story of  Mary, Martha,  and their brother Lazarus in John 11. Mary was the younger sister often seen as the more spiritual one and also known as a woman filled with emotion and femininity. She was the sister that sat at Jesus feet and worshiped Him.  Martha on the other hand was the eldest of the sisters and she was definitely a  woman of service,  a homemaker, that was full of hospitality. She was the one who welcomed Jesus into her home just days before.

We find that Mary & Martha had sent for Jesus because their brother was deathly sick. They said "Lord whom thou lovest is sick!" When Jesus heard of the sickness He said " This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."(John 11:4) Scripture also tells us that Jesus waited two more days after their plea and remained right where He was, in a place beyond Jordan.

His disciples continued to question Jesus because He wasn't in a hurry. They thought that Lazarus must not be that bad off  because of what seemed like Jesus' lack of concern. Then look at Jesus' response in 14 & 15 . "Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him." Then Jesus continues on His journey toward Bethany. At His arrival we know that Lazarus had been dead 4 days already. What was the sisters' response when Jesus arrived? Martha ran to Jesus and said "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." Mary had the same response as she fell at his feet. No doubt these sisters were troubled and full of anxiety because the Master did not make it in time to heal their brother that they so dearly loved.

The sisters were troubled with three main things.

1. Delay-   Why did Jesus delay so long before going to Lazarus?
Verse 5 affirms that Jesus loved the three siblings dearly. That should reassure us of Jesus' love in spite of his two- day delay. You might say that's an odd or strange kind of love that would wait to go heal someone he loved when He was surely capable of the task. However , His delay did not mean that He didn't love Lazarus. Can you imagine love on the basis of time? Verse 6 tells us that it was a delay of love not a delay of time.Jesus knew the delay would make His love more real and would bring more glory to God. That's why He waited until Lazarus was dead. Four days kind of dead!  It's more glorious to raise an impossibility than to just fix some little problem we might have.

How often do we worry because God doesn't  immediately come to the rescue? He often makes us wait as well before His love can really become visible to us. I dealt with this myself right after I lost my son Zion. I felt like I was trying to serve God and my anxiety would not go away. It seemed to even grow at times and new anxieties were added daily.  In my eyes I truly felt like a victim. I kept dwelling on the thoughts that Satan had fed me. Ones where I would literally die from the pain and I would never be able to get past my grief to live a normal life. It wasn't until I finally started listening to the voice of truth and God's word that I could move a step forward from my crippling anxiety. That came from my husband and some great friends and family members continually ministering  and guiding me in the way of  truth and reminding me of God's promises.

It seems as Christians sometimes we feel that God's only way for us is easy and without pain, suffering, or struggles.. However, that is clearly contrary to scripture. Suffering is always for a purpose. It is so that we may know Him (Phl 3:10) and that His glory might be revealed to us.

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.  To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:10-11
















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