Who is on the throne of your life?

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you realize that you have been trying to live your life in your own strength? Are you scrambling to get everything you desire to accomplish done and done right? Have you ever told yourself that if you want it done right, you must do it yourself?

I have realized recently that I have been trying to live this way and failing miserably. Why have I taken God off of the throne of my life and placed myself up there? Especially, when I have repented of it before and know in my heart that things will turn out poorly and I will be unhappy and stressed out?

For me, I think that when my life seems to be going my way, I somehow think "OK, God. Things are going pretty well. I can take it from here". And I rely less and less on Him until I am in full blown sin and far from Him.

Then, its not long before trouble starts and I cry out to God for help. I realize that the only times that my life has been going well and I am not living in fear or stressed out, is when I make God the Lord of my life. It makes such a difference to have my focus on God and not myself.

When I bring my cares to God in prayer, I know that I can trust Him to take care of me and to allow only what is best for me to occur. I feel that the burden has been lifted and I don't need to stress over it anymore.

I admit that I am allowing myself to get upset and stressed about all of the changes that are going on in the US. The economy is bad yet the President is spending our country into bankruptcy. All while he and his croneys are thinking up all kinds of new taxes and regulations that will make it even harder to make ends meet. I am allowing myself to fear the future and trying to think of ways to protect myself so that all of these new rules and taxes won't effect me. Instead, I need to tell God about my fears and trust Him to provide and be content with what He provides. I need to also remember that God chooses the "kings" and that they are really His servants. The Bible says that the kings of the earth are like drops of water in the palm of His hand and He can move them however He wishes. This is a comforting thought to me.

Pastor Matt has told us that times of persecution will be coming. He told us in a recent sermon that the grace of God doesn't always remove hardship, but in many ways it brings it. These are sobering thoughts. But the truth is, God never promised us a smooth life on earth. But He does want us to persevere to the end, no matter what.

So, I encourage you to give God the throne of your life and bring all of your cares to Him. Trust in Him no matter what is ahead and remember Paul's words "I have fought the good fight, I have stayed the course and I have kept the faith" and strive to live as he did.

Still, My Soul, Be Still

Still, my soul, be still
And do not fear,
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow
God is at your side
No longer dread
The fires of unexpected sorrow

God, you are my God
And I will trust in you and not be shaken
Lord of peace, renew
A steadfast spirit within me
To rest in you alone

Still, my soul, be still
Do not be moved
By lesser lights and fleeting shadows
Hold on to His ways
With shield of faith
Against temptations flaming arrows

Still, my soul, be still
Do not forsake
The truth you learned in the beginning
Wait upon the Lord
And hope will rise
As stars appear when day is dimming

"Still, my soul, be still" has become an oft repeated phrase in my life. I say it to myself over and over, many times a day. There is some traffic on the highway and I start to freak out? Still, my soul, be still. God is in control. Someone says something that makes me angry? Still, my soul, be still. Do not overreact or react in undue anger. Love others more than yourself. I'm driving home in the dark (after driving to work in the dark) and depression starts to weigh in on my mind? Still, my soul, be still. You have much to be thankful for!
The examples could go on and on and be much more specific or even more general. The other day I was in a taxi in downtown Chicago and seriously thought that perhaps I would not live. Still, my soul, be still. You are ready to go home. God is in control. And I calmed down...

This song is beautiful and it covers it all: change, sorrow, temptation, uncertainty. And it concludes with an awesome reminder: do not forget what you have learned. Do not walk away from what you know to be true. Instead, cling to what you know. Persevere. Trust in the Lord.

"God, you are my God. And I will trust in you and not be shaken."

Amen

Respectable Sins - Part 2

Anxiety
Uh oh, you're all thinking right now, here it comes. Anxiety is a sin...we know already!! And I just want to take this opportunity to say yeah, I know too. And I'm still anxious all the time, usually without recognizing it as sin or calling it sin. So why is anxiety a sin? I mean, we're human right? Anxiety is an emotion; we live in a fallen world, for heavens sake, there is tons to be anxious about! Anxiety is a sin because it shows a distrust of God in our hearts and a lack of willingness to accept God's providence in our lives.

I had to confront this particular sin in my life a little over a year ago. I have a skin problem with my fingers. No one really knows whats going on with it, but I have some medicated lotion I have to use like crazy. Most of the time its under control and it just seems like I have really dry hands. But sometimes its really bad and my fingers get swollen and scabby and break open...you get the picture. Its gross. There have been several times when I haven't had use of my hands because of it. Once or twice this happened on a Sunday morning and I wasn't able to write on the whiteboard in class - I had to ask one of the kids to do it for me! Many times I scratched my fingers so hard that my hands were shaking from exhaustion; often times the only relief was to hold my hands under scalding water for a few minutes. Do you get the picture I'm trying to paint? This is not a pretty thing! My dad told me that he had had a similar experience when he was my age and that it happened when he was particularly anxious about something. He asked me if there was anything I was anxious about. I said no, but I thought about it. I thought and thought and thought and realized that I was an extremely anxious person! God showed me much grace and I have been battling this anxiety and winning over the last year. We serve a gracious Lord! And now I always have a very physical reminder whenever I loose trust in God...one that I can't ignore!

Not all of you (unfortunately?) have this same reminder though. Its harder to tell when you aren't trusting God. And that is all anxiety is. If we understood God for the Almighty, All-Knowing, Loving, Faithful, Sovereign God that He truly is, then we would never ever suffer from anxiety!! We wouldn't be able to!

Remind yourselves of God's promises. Learn them, memorize them, and meditate on them. Make them your own. Learn more about who God is. Read of His character, learn His works. Never brush off anxiety as unimportant or justifiable.

I have far to go in my fight...just ask my brother! On Saturdays, he and I work the same shift and I usually ride to work with him. I do this for three reasons. One, because it is dumb for us both to drive to the same place at the same time and then leave at the same time to drive back to the same place. Two, because I enjoy his company. Three, because it gives me a regular opportunity to display a trust in my God. Those of you who know me well know that I am pretty scared of being late. Its a big fear. I have a four minute commute to work and I almost always leave 20-25 minutes before I'm scheduled to start...just in case! Matt, on the other hand, leaves in enough time to arrive 2 minutes before he is scheduled! I'm sorry to say that almost every Saturday I get extremely anxious. I start nagging him and bugging him to leave. I'm impatient and frustrated on the walk to the car. It feels like hours instead of 2 seconds for him to throw a couple notebooks off the front passengers seat into the back of the car. The whole drive there I'm urging him to drive faster. My poor brother, I'm honestly surprised he still lets me drive with him!

The point? I am daily fighting anxiety. It is a huge struggle for me and is always rearing its ugly head in areas I never expected. Look for the anxiety in your own lives. Recognize it as sin...and fight it alongside me. May we all learn to trust our God so much that nothing in this world can daunt us!

Guest Blogger: Karen Seiders

Today we have a post from our sister, Karen Seiders, speaking about suffering, and our handling of it.

Over the past 20 years or so I have been diagnosed with several long term illnesses and had several injuries that always seem to take a long time to heal. It seems like there is always something hurting me. I have so many different issues that when a new one comes along I tend to forget about how the other things affect my body at the same time. I often find that they all show their "ugly heads" in unison. I use so many medicines each day to treat my many issues that is embarrassing. I have tried to eliminate some but the doctors tell me that I can't as they all treat one illness or another. I feel like my body is fighting against me. I am always in pain from one thing or another and it really wears on me.

I used to be very athletic and busy. I enjoyed physical activity very much. My life has changed dramatically and I don't like it very much. But, this is what the Lord has for me right now.

I used to think that since I had been praying to die since I was about 8 years old, God had finally answered my prayer by giving me terminal illnesses. But, on the other hand, I thought maybe He was mad at me for something and this was my punishment.

I was always a worrier. My school teachers used to tell my parents that I was going to have a heart attack by the time I was 20. I got a job shortly after we moved to Kenosha as a stock broker and I finally got so stressed out I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and had to be treated with medication. As it turns out, most of my health issues are brought on by stress and exacerbated by stress so my doctor took me off of work and helped me get disability. She told my husband that if I didn't give up working that I was going to die. I am now a homemaker but I still feel really stressed sometimes. My stomach feels like I have "butterflies" in it during those times.

I have found the way to deal with all of this--a relationship with God. Before I tried to do everything by my own strength and "smarts". I was failing miserably and I finally came to the end of myself. I thought I had a relationship with the Lord but I realized that I really didn't.

Since then I have wondered why God has allowed me to be in constant pain and why so many things go wrong. I have been reading much on this subject and searching the Word for answers lately. God has been good to show me that there are many reasons that He allows His childern to suffer.

I believe that God has used all of this, first and foremost, to bring me to repentance and salvation. When I think about that I realize that that is really the most important thing. Our time on earth is very short compared to eternity. I like the verse in the song Amazing Grace which says "when we've been there 10,000 years....we have no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun". That just blows my mind.

I have realized that God uses these trials in my life to make me and mold me. My trials have shown me what I'm really "made of". A lot of times I don't like what I see and that causes me to go to God and repent and then to change my ways. I also realize that since I have endured and persevered in the past that I can "make it" the next time with God's help. Sometimes I feel like just giving up, but I know that God says we are to fight the good fight, stay the course and keep the faith. He wants me to learn to persevere.

I have also been thinking about my Heavenly home that Jesus said He is preparing for me. I think about how great it will be someday to not hurt and to run and have fun, and be with Jesus for ever and ever.

I think God has also allowed my physical trials so that I can tell others about Him. When people hear about everything I am dealing with they usually ask how I can handle it all. I can then tell them that I can with the help of the Lord. My body is also scarred in many places due to the many surgeries I have had. When people see the ugly scars they usually ask me what happened. That gives me more opportunities to tell them about how keeping my eyes on the Lord gives me the strength to endure. Someone recently asked if I was going to pursue plastic surgery to make my scars less noticeable. When I thought about it, I said no because they give me opportunities to tell others about Jesus.

I have been told by several people that seeing how I have dealt with all of this over the years, that it has helped them to endure their trials. I think that sometimes God allows people to go through trials not for themselves but for others.

I am still working on my worry and stress issues. Jesus specifically told us not to worry, and that God will take care of us and provide for our needs. When worry comes I remember the words of David (I think--its in the Psalms) "I was young and now I am old and I have never seen (Christians) begging for bread". I also think about how my actions speak to others. If I am worried and all stressed out about something, I am showing others that I really am not trusting in the Lord. How can I tell them to trust in the Lord when their life is stressful, if I don't do it when mine is?

I have found that I have also not given every part of my life to God. I still hold on to things and try to handle them myself, as if I can do a better job than God can. I'm afraid that if I give these special parts of my life to God to control, He will make bad things happen. I tell myself that God is good and full of loving kindness. I think about how Jesus said that if we, sinners, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will God give to us since He is without sin. That we would not give our child a stone if he asks for bread, and since God is sinless how much better he will treat us. Those things encourage me.

When I can, I have also found that helping others keeps my eyes off of my own problems. It makes me happy to do something nice for someone else and you can't be happy and sad all at the same time.

I spend most of my days alone. Some days I can really get depressed if I don't keep my mind on the Lord. I usually keep christian radio on all day, I prefer contemporary christian music over listening to people talk. The words are very encouraging to me and keep my eyes on the Lord all day.

I also find that the time I spend in prayer each day helps me to cope. I just feel closer to God even though He says he is always closer than a brother. Sometimes when I am in the hospital and I am in a lot of pain, I find myself just asking God to help me. I remember that God says the Spirit prays for us when we are not able to pray. I know that He is with me and that I can just lean on Him during those times.

I just don't know how nonchristians can do it all on their own strength? It must be so hard. For now, my mission field is in hospitals among doctors, nurses, etc., and in the places I can go when people ask me "What happened??" I think that He also wants me to show that I can be happy even when things are hard and tell them that this joy comes from my relationship with God. I almost feel "lucky" that God has trusted me enough to allow these trials into my life. He has counted me worthy to suffer for His name. Yes it hurts alot, but He is showing others Himself through me and if just one person comes to the Lord as a result, its all woth it.

Providence is a Soft Pillow for Anxious Heads

Most of us get anxious at some time or another. The good, bad, and ugly experiences of life are a constant reminder that though we want to be in control of all aspects of our lives, we simply aren’t. We forget God’s providence and resort to worry and wonder. I’m quite often willing and ready to utter that God is in control of all things, but not always willing to live in light of that truth.

The Puritans said "providence is a soft pillow for anxious heads." Every night you lay your head on your pillow. But if your soul is weary, rest on the knowledge that he has ordained all of your days, the short or long, the rich or poor, the sad or happy, were all designed for his good and perfect purpose.

Andrew Murray put it this way: “I am here by his appointment, I am here by his keeping, I am here for his training, and I am here for his time.”

John Calvin said: “Ignorance of providence is the ultimate of all miseries. The highest blessedness lies in the knowledge of it.”

David in Psalms 31:14 says “My times are in God’s hands.”

Fear, Anxiety, and Pride

Our Pastor is preaching on the perils of pride and the blessings / promises of humility right now. At one point in his sermon this past week he talked about anxiety. To paraphrase, he said that fear was the product of a prideful heart. He quoted another man who said that the heart of pride is one that makes itself supreme, not our Almighty, Infinite God. The prideful heart sets itself and its own plans, desires, expectations as supremely important rather than God and His will, plans, and desires. So how does this relate to fear? Well it’s really simple… we all have desires and plans and expectations, but they're not always the same as God’s desires, plans, and expectations for us. When He sovereignly directs our day in a way that doesn’t coincide with the direction we wanted (planned or expected) it to go, our reaction reveals the status of our heart. Do I accept God’s direction for my life with humility like Jesus saying “but not my will Father, but Yours be done,” or do I react in fear (or anger or discontentment, etc.)? When I react in fear I am showing that my heart was really exalting itself over God’s supremacy and not submitting humbly to His plan for my day. As such, fear is really an outward expression of the heart that is filled with pride. The heart of fear (pride) says I don’t want that to happen… I’m afraid! But the heart of humility says, I desire for … (fill in the blank) to happen, but I know that God knows what is best and my ultimate desire is to submit to His Supremacy, even if that means that my momentary desires are not realized. The heart of humility will trust God to make the best decision and lead them down the best paths in their life, but the heart of pride will dig in their heels and react in fear, distrust, etc. ultimately fighting God’s direction.

I can tend to look at fear in my own heart and try to come up with a plan to fight it, but in reality I am missing the bigger problem. It’s like being in a war and arriving at the wrong battle field. The real issue isn’t my fear, but rather my pride. Will I submit my will to God and accept with humble faith that whatever He brings my way is the best thing for me and those whose lives are affected through me, or will I rebel against His will for me and engage is silent “protest” through my fear filled reaction. The better thing would be to confess to God my pride and seek to submit myself to His will, asking Him to help me trust in His promises of good for those “who love Him and are called according to His purposes.” I would profit more if I remembered the humility of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane expressing His desires to God but not making them an idol, rather seeking to do God’s will no matter how great the cost. (As such this reaction would honor God, too!) I would do well to imitate His faith which said “My food is to do the will of God.” Everything about Christ exuded humble trust in God and submission to His will.

To sum up and restate this in the most positive fashion that I can: The way to live a peace-filled, anxiety free, joyful life is to be a humble person (or at best this side of heaven: a person seeking to be humble). Living in humility or in the state of humbling ourselves under God’s mighty hand is the only way to experience freedom and joy beyond our comprehension, even in the midst of trials and unsettling events because our focus isn’t on our own plans or our own supremacy but rather on God who is both Almighty and All-powerful… and frankly amazing! We will be astounded as we see the beauty of His plan if we accept it humbly and without fear.