THOSE ANXIOUS THOUGHTS

Psalms 139:23-24 Search me , O God and know my heart: test me and know MY ANXIOUS THOUGHTS. See if there is any offensive way in me; and lead me in the way everlasting.

We all experience ANXIOUS THOUGHTS from time to time…if not most of the time. In the world we live in, we have been so accustomed to hearing negative and most often the pessimistic point of view that we have come to accept this as the norm. It is normal to think about the future…and of course plan forward. But of late, the Lord has been reminding me of the simple principle…TODAY HAS ENOUGH TROUBLE OF ITS OWN. Yes…those ANXIOUS THOUGHTS, long hours of sleepless nights will not and cannot change a thing.

As a baby Christian, it was easier to let go of those anxious thought…and trust MY DADDY for today. But as time pass by, as a mature Christian… I take charge of many things and like the foolish Galatians…I start mixing my faith with works. I feel the need to help God with my tomorrow. And hence….THOSE ANXIOUS THOUGHTS. Maybe that’s you. Maybe….like me you need to have BABY THOUGHTS but A MATURE HEART.  God wants us to have peace. To rest assured that the sky will always be blue, the water will always be colourless and yes…GOD WILL ALWAYS BE FAITHFUL to meet us in our tomorrow.

Friend…let THOSE ANXIOUS THOUGHTS rest!

MEN & SUCCESS

Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds GREAT DELIGHT in his commands.

Every man on the face of the earth wants or desires to be successful. And while..its right to desire to be successful, there are only two ways to get there. SUCCESS can either by FEAR-DRIVEN or FAITH-DRIVEN.

FEAR-DRIVEN SUCCESS says:

Blessed is the man who wakes up early and stays up late; the man who has a life insurance; the man who has savings for a rainy day; the man who exercises and eat health; the man who knows the rules of the game etc.

Psalm 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat_ for he grants sleep to those he loves.

But…something goes missing for this man….HIS HEART! No matter how sure or secure he is at his present or perceived future….HIS HEART IS ALWAYS FEARFUL. Why? Because he has no fear of the Lord in his heart.

On the other hand…the man who has the fear of the Lord in his heart walks securely. His present or future is sure…as he walks by faith.

FAITH-DRIVEN SUCCESS says:

YOUR LAST ENEMY

1 Corinthians 15:25-26 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. THE LAST ENEMY to be destroyed is death.

I have heard this declaration by Christians more often than not. ‘I HAVE NO ENEMIES.’ But the truth be told. Yes…you have enemies. In fact, from the very moment you openly declared your allegiance to follow the Lord Jesus, your first and greatest enemy became the devil. The devil uses other agents to oppose the purpose of God from being accomplished in your life. And while his agents maybe physical, emotional or spiritual…the most effective of them all is when he uses people.

This morning….the Lord whispered these words into my heart. ‘I WILL USE YOUR LAST ENEMY TO THRUST YOU INTO YOUR DESTINY.’ Suddenly, I understood what that meant. Throughout the bible history, we see people who rose up to oppose God’s chosen servants. And while facing their enemy, in human weakness, God always entered into their situation to show Himself strong on their behalf.

GOD IS THEIR ADVOCATE

Zechariah 7:8-10 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the WIDOW or the FATHERLESS, the ALIEN or the POOR. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

An ADVOCATE according to my Collins dictionary is defined as: to support or recommend publicly; a person who upholds or defends a cause; a person WHO INTERCEDES ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER; a person who pleads his client’s cause in the court of law etc.

Is God your advocate? Do you believe God is well able to intercede or intervene on your behalf against the injustice you are facing? You might not know this….but GOD IS A PROFESSIONAL ADVOCATE! He longs for justice more than you can ever imagine. Long before the professional advocate become a prestigious job…God had made it clear to the children of Israel that He would intercede anytime, and every time when injustice was shown to the four kinds of people in their midst: THE WIDOW, THE FATHERLESS, THE ALIEN AND THE POOR.

In the book of Deuteronomy, we see God commanding the children of Israel on how to deal with these four kinds of people. And in most cases, it was evident that how they dealt with them influenced the outcome of the future events in their lives.