Unbelief

I ran across the following devotional the other day and it made me sort of look at "worry" from a different perspective. Most of us do worry..some lots more than others and if I am being honest it can sometimes make me crazy.

But the bottom line is that I have to, time and time again, create a steadfast disciplined mindset that God has got whatever is bugging me in his sights. And even though I think I can fix something or another or control an outcome....it is God who not only has the power to change things but also is the one who has a master plan for each of our lives.

It is hard to "Let Go" and "LET GOD" manage my events and choices. Oh but what freedom there is when I do truly lift my thoughts and cares up to God in prayer and put my concerns back in his hands. Pretty sure you all have experienced many of the same feelings.

I love his title "CAREFUL UNBELIEF".

Our Careful Unbelief

By Oswald Chambers

…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. —Matthew 6:25

Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as "unbelief". If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration.

Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.“…do not worry about your life….” Don’t take the pressure of your provision upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything but those details that worry us.

(I love that because, how many times have we heard "the devil is in the details". I think of the times that I have "let go" and how peaceful it is when I realize that so many of the things that I get caught up in, really just don't matter for the long haul.... and I don't have control over them anyway.)

Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the Word He puts in us? Is it the devil? No— “the cares of this world” (Matthew 13:22). It is always our little worries. We say, “I will not trust when I cannot see”— and that is where unbelief begins. The only cure for unbelief is obedience to the Spirit.

The greatest word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon.

These are some of the abandonments that came to mind for me:

Abandon the do it yourself attitude... trust God

(He might have a better way)

Abandon the fear of outcomes that might occur...Trust God ( so many things we worry about never happen)

Abandon the need to conquer on your own- Trust God

( God will send helpers)

Abandon the need to control...Trust God

(God has got plans that we aren't privy to)

Abandon making plans without seeking God's input - Trust God (He knows what is to come)

Abandon the comparison to others -Trust God

(You are his masterpiece...and valued and loved completely)

Abandon old ways and seek new ones- Trust God

(Shake off the yuck stuff and find happy where you are)

Abandon judgement of others - Trust God

(we don't know their story... or their pains and pasts)

It is our choice to give God the rightful reins to our life. It is not an overnight accomplishment. It a day by day deliberate incentive to give God the chance to be your loving partner. May we each keep learning to trust God with the little things that gnaw at our peace and steal our joy and trust Him with... the big ones as well Blessings to you this Day...

Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in...for his Glory will shine through!

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