I’m amazed at how strong and confident people are sometimes.
They write online like they hadn’t a care in the world. I wish I could say the same for myself, but that would not be the truth.
I often struggle with life and the hardships we have to face. It can feel like a heavy weight sometimes. I could easily lose focus if I compared myself to those who appear so strong and confident on the exterior.
There is a confidence in the flesh and there is a confidence in God. The confidence we have in the flesh has no solid foundation and to keep going under that sort of thinking will eventually lead to weariness, joylessness, sadness, and depression.
The confidence I need in the hard times is confidence in God.
“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
Cease Striving
I would be lying if I said it did not bother me how the people in my life refuse to follow God. I’d be lying if I said their rebellion did not hurt me and the way they speak with such venom and hatred towards me.
These things can weigh heavily on our hearts.
Then on top of our worries and concerns, we have wars, earthquakes, and evil of every kind around us.
We can be filled with fear, stress, and anxiety. The devil would love it if we would succumb to it all. To be downcast in our spirits.
To cope, people work harder, try harder, do more—STRIVE.
When we do this we are not listening to the Lord.
God is the opposite of this.
His answer is to stop striving and be still.
I know, it seems strange. My answer is usually the same as yours.
“But, what am I to do? I can’t just do nothing!”
We have been trained to do more when we feel stress.
But God says, do less.
Move slowly.
We don’t have to stop doing things, we only have to stop striving.
What’s the difference?
The difference is your mindset.
When we hand over our troubles to God and admit our weaknesses and fears, He can deal with it for us and we can have peace in the hard times.
We can Trust Him to deal with the outcome of our efforts.
Do your best and leave the rest to Him.
We need to know that it is God who makes a way where there seems to be no way.
It is God who opens doors of opportunity, not us.
So, let us put our trust in Him.
Get to know God. Turn to Him in times of distress and He will make a way where there seems to be no way.
“Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Psalm 46:10-11
Amen! Merci beaucoup encore une fois! Pierre