Week Forty-One - Need a Lift?

Sometimes, we feel low because we are physically, mentally, or emotionally exhausted. Other times, our lowness comes from the things happening around us, such as bad news, frustration, sadness at a friend's illness, or even the inability to keep life peaceful or without unwanted drama. Lots of things bring us down, but our Lord never does.

Psalm 3:3 tells us He is the "lifter up" of our heads. I've had to claim that promise many times when my spirit dropped to empty and my head was bowed in grief. I've always found the Lord met me there and lifted me up, placing me into His loving arms and renewing my outlook.

The Bible is full of encouragement for low times, and His Spirit has a precious way of bringing comfort and assurance when we feel low. 

Psalm 31 gives us several positive promises and truths that lift us up.

Verse 1 - He will deliver.

Verse 3 - He is our rock and fortress.

Verse 5 - He will redeem us.

Verse 7 - He knows our troubles and understands the adversity of our souls.

Verse 8 - He will not leave us in the hand of the enemy.

Verse 15 - Our times are in His hand.

What a precious promise! Our Father cares for us every moment of the day, lifting us up with His precious promises and eternal love.

Psalm 41:12 reads, "And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever." God watches us always—forever!  Even when our heads hang low, and our knees are weak, He is still there beside us, ready to lend a helping hand and lift us up.

So, we can say with the psalmist, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance" (Psalm 42:5).

Friend, you may be in a low spot right now. Remember, it is just for a moment. Take yourself to Psalm 31 and read for a while. The closing verse is yet another precious promise. "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." It is my prayer that God would do just that for you today - lift you up and renew your strength. So, be of good courage. God knows where you are!

Week Forty - I Stopped

Several years ago, the Lord gave me a word that became a spiritual instruction. The word was enough. His Spirit said, "That is enough, Gail. Enough trying to figure things out. Enough fretting and fear. Enough trying to solve everyone else's problems or thinking you can fix things for them. Enough." 

I wish I could tell you I obeyed immediately, but I didn't. It was several months of heartache and disappointment before I decided to obey by faith. And let me tell you, I have never regretted my decision. When I stopped figuring, fretting, and fixing, I found such peace, and I began seeing God work and even answer prayer.

We are often too slow to respond when it comes to stopping. Maybe that's why we crash! Or maybe our spiritual brakes are bad, causing us to appear erratic or swerving. Learning to stop is a vital safety maneuver!

I read a post a while back where another person talked about stopping. Here's what it said.

"I once asked a very successful person to share their secret. They smiled and said, 'I started succeeding when I started leaving small fights for small fighters. I stopped fighting those who gossiped about me. I stopped fighting with my in-laws. I stopped fighting for attention. I stopped fighting to meet people's expectations of me. I stopped fighting for my rights with inconsiderate people. I stopped fighting to please everyone. I stopped fighting to prove they were wrong about me. I left such fights for those with nothing else to do but fight, and I started fighting for my vision, dreams, ideas, and destiny. The day I gave up on small fights is when I became successful and so much more content.'" 

I must agree. Contentment and peace became my overriding state when I stopped and obeyed the Lord.

Why do we struggle with stopping? Let me offer a few suggestions. 

We may think no one else could solve the problem like we can. 

We may think that if we walked away from the situation, we would be perceived as not caring or loving enough. 

We might even believe our way is the right way, and if we stopped putting in our two cents or keeping our fingers in the pie, things wouldn't turn out well. 

Do you see the pride in those thoughts?

Let me give you a couple of Scriptures to consider. James 4:1-2 reads, "From whence come wars and fighting among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not."

Isn't this what we do when we refuse to listen to God's Spirit? We push and shove and try to get things to go our way. God calls that the lusts that war in our members—the desires that drive us. 

Proverbs 13:10 says, "Only by pride cometh contention." If we combine that with the verses in James and study the subject throughout the Bible, we will learn that pride is the core problem.

We don't stop because we are driven by pride. We want to look good, sound good, be perceived as the ones with the answers, and be able to solve all the problems, but that is not our place! 

You find the key when you read chapter four of James. That key is humility. Verse ten reads, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." 

Listening and obeying when God's Spirit told me it was enough was humbling. I knew I should stop, but I feared what might happen. And you know what? None of the things I feared happened. Instead, God gave me great peace and a secure contentment that my obedience was enough. He would do the rest.

So, what do you need to stop today? Fretting? Fussing? Complaining? Fixing? There can be many things we push with a background of pride. I challenge you to go before the Lord and see what word He gives you. Then, obey by faith and let God take care of the rest.