Go Your Own Way

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  2 Corinthians 5:7

Just like an athlete who trains to be the best in his/her specific sport, for us to live victoriously requires us to live in deep dependence on God and God alone on a daily basis.

The world usually associates victory with success and winning, not stumbling or falling and making mistakes.  But too often, when we are successful in life, we tend to go our own way, forgetting about our loving Father and depending on our very limited strength and resources.

Coming to a place with God where we rely solely on him is not necessarily the path of ongoing success; often times we must encounter multiple failures before we are able to totally depend on Him.  However, with each failure, we grow in our reliance with Him and live the lives of blessed assurance that we will be victorious in this life and the next.

Praise be to God!

Couldn't Get It Right

Without me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

One of our boys' favorite Bible stories is how David defeated Goliath.  If you think about it, there were probably thousands of Israelite soldiers that were better equipped to battle with Goliath rather than David.  Regardless, most any rational soldier's reaction to fighting Goliath would have been one of fear, stress, and anxiety.

David didn't waiver because he realized that it was God’s battle and not his own.

Apart from the Lord, he didn't stand a chance.  However, with God’s help and mighty strength, David was confident that everything would turn out just fine-and it did!

Meant to Live

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2

Despite it being a short work week because of Memorial Day, Tuesday came and went yesterday and I was simply worn out before this week had even begun.  Everything has been going well at work, in fact, so well that I have been running ragged at work the past few weeks with various meetings and presentations.  When I rely on my own limited resources, I simply don’t have what it takes to make it. 

The more I learn about God, the more I am beginning to understand that He wants me to come to a place of dependence on Him, every single day.

This world wants you to believe that being self-sufficient is the way live, but the truth is, we need to rely more on God’s all-powerful and never-ending strength.

Let us rejoice in our insufficiency knowing that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.

Little By Little

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Leaving the gym this morning, I couldn't help but notice how much time I spend on working out and trying to increase my own limited strength rather than relying on God’s never-ending supply of strength, especially when I am faced with adversity.

In the midst of a problem, it’s easy to focus on the size of our problem and we tend to forget that God is greater than any problem or situation we could ever possibly face.   You see, when we look at a difficult situation in terms of our own strength, we diminish the fact that God’s abilities and love are unlimited.  He will always provide us everything we need.

We must learn to not focus on the obstacles we face as problems, but view them as opportunities for God to demonstrate His awesome power and grow our faith exponentially.

God often doesn't reveal the whole picture to us, He only shows us His plans little by little, so we must learn to rely on Him daily.  We must follow His lead, guidance, and learn to trust Him with our future.

God Give Me Strength

Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  (Ephesians 6:10)


One of the reoccurring missteps I make as a Christian is becoming self-reliant after experiencing a little success.  This mistake is one that is extremely easy to make as a believer, as it is totally unnatural to live in total dependence on God.  


The truth of the matter is that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle while we are here on this earth; life will be a struggle until we draw our last breath and spend eternity in heaven.


The number one rule of engagement in our spiritual battle is to draw our strength from God.  While it seems simple, our natural default mode is to depend on ourselves and not on Him.  


We must prepare and equip ourselves daily by prayer and staying grounded in His Word. If we are to bear spiritual fruit, we cannot rely on our own limited resources and strength; we must tap into God's never-ending strength and resources and essentially die to ourselves.


It's the only way we can win and survive; be strong in His mighty power!!