When I became a Christ Follower I thought my life would just “fall into place” as many of us do. We become on fire for God and His Word and think now I have the power to ward off all the bad things that may come my way. NOT TRUE. Bad things happen to people, even Christ followers. (Some may even say ESPECIALLY Christ followers)
What I have discovered is that we need to pray, study, and even memorize scripture in order to be well prepared when “stuff” happens. Ephesians 6:17-18
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
But even the most God honoring Christians get lost. Something happens in their lives that make them turn from God. Our enemy senses pain and immediately starts throwing out thoughts like…”If God cared for you this wouldn’t have happened” or “How can God do this to such an obedient servant like you after all the years you have dedicated to Him?” And because we are weak, we start to believe these lies and we become angry at God and/or blame Him for what has happened.
Recently I have met several people who have had a betrayal in their lives. Each one describes the pain to be very similar, followed by this intense anger, much of which is self destructive. It is so easy to fall back into the worldly ways of partying and playing, staying away from church or anyone who has to do with it.
I find it so sad to see someone who has a beautiful life waste it away by holding on to this anger and staying stuck in the victim roll. I have done that for so much of my life. It became so easy to blame my outside circumstances on my worth as a person, allowing someone else’s actions to dictate how I feel about me, my life or especially my God.
God has an awesome plan for all of us. A future that He has planned out for each and every one of us….but it is impossible for Him to give us our future, if we are so filled with our past. Let’s let the past anger go, learn from it and maybe even take responsibility for some of it….and then watch God perform.
Matthew 11:28-29 Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
About Me
- Jena Rainone Smith
- Christ follower, wife and bonus mom to three amazing kids and loving every minute of it!
2 comments:
Wow. Another awesome post Jena. I imagine most if not all of us have been angry at God at some point in our lives. I have. The best feeling was when I was truly over it and began listening to and obeying Him rather than me......
It's easy to be a Christ follower when everything is "hunkie dorkie." I remember seeing a mom on a Sunday morning praying and praising God. Who would of known four days prior she had lost her son to a car crash. The worship that flowed from her showed me that she was still in love with a man with nails in His hands, Dear heavenly Father, I pray when stuff happens, I will go running to you and not to the world. In your name I pray, Amen.
Post a Comment