Ever have those days where you just feel beaten? When these days come you really find out the strength of your spirit and how solid your foundation really is.
If life was a battle I could equate my day to fighting in the trenches. I keep fighting and pushing with an effort to make forward progress, but every time I look around I still see the muddy bottom and steep walls of clay surrounding me. Every day feels more like a repeat of the day before than it does a new day. To win this war, I literally have to wake up each and every day with a desire and determination to conquer anything before me. Some days that passion is already there, but days like today it is more like searching for a grain of salt lost in a field.
Then, I read ecclesiastes and I hear again about how "there is nothing new under the sun". So, I have to wonder how many people have had similar struggles. How many of them accepted defeat compared to those that found a way to overcome the rough times? Surely these same thoughts have occurred in the minds of parents before in history. Regardless, making the decision to put away meaningless thoughts of failure to focus my eyes on the Lord feels like the best place to start for me. Ofcourse there are several things I would like to do that will occupy my mind enough so I won't have to think about my struggles. But, we were created by an awesome overcoming kind of God who tells us that with enough faith we can move mountains. Mountains??? Yes, mountains. Yeshua said at least two times very clearly that with enough faith we could literally move mountains. I haven't seen anyone in my life with that kind of faith, but it sure is a great goal to set. Forget climbing to the top of Mount Everest. If your faith is strong enough you could relocate Mount Everest. I bring that up just to mention that even on these tough days during our struggles in life our Lord is bigger than the strife. It's absolutely frightening to me to consider the complete lack of power that I possess since I spend most of my time trying to control everything. Nevertheless, the decision to hand EVERYTHING over to God is not only necessary but also the choice with the greatest outcome.
I was listening to a story from a pastor yesterday about this well known pastor in the early 1900s (We'll call him Bob for simplicity). Bob gave "everything" to God, but he never felt quite right. One day Bob was listening to a local younger man speak at his church. The younger man seemed to have something Bob did not. After the service Bob asked the man "Sir, how do you appear to have so much joy of the Lord?" The man simply replied "when you give everything to God, joy is all you have left". Then he followed with a question. "Have you given EVERYTHING to God in your life?" Bob couldn't help but notice that he had only tricked himself into thinking he gave control of everything to God. He went home and had private prayer time with God who told him that he needed to hand everything over including what he was holding back.
I admit that I have been like Bob at times. I tell God that I have faith in him to provide, yet I make decisions that switch the control to my hands out of fear. I know He has the power, yet I support the doubt that sets in which tells me He "may not want to help me". This way of thinking is not supported in the Bible, and actually can be proven contrary to what His word actually promises.
Today it is time to make a decision. Tomorrow, it will be time to make a new one. What will your decision be and how will you follow through with it? I have made the decision to give today my best and leave the results up to God. I will fight through struggles, resist pointless temptations of laziness, and refuse to let anger or despair grab a hold on me today. If you are struggling today I encourage you to climb out of the trench and give God your best today. Don't worry about the results, because He has complete control. I pray that everyone struggling today will receive strength and that they will conquer all forms of defeat. May God Bless You!
