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.