Helpless

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.  Jeremiah 33:3

Thankfully, I have never had a first-hand experience with a near-death encounter, but I have always found interviews with people who have survived the unimaginable very interesting.

Living a “Spirit-filled” life begins with the realization that we are absolutely helpless and hopeless without the power of the Holy Spirit.  Until we have an understanding that God is in total control of our lives and everything else in the universe, we will never experience the true power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within each believer.

When we don't draw our strength from the Holy Spirit, we only use our strength and for that reason, we work in vein.  It may not take us experiencing some near fatal accident or miracle to understand that God is in control and we are helpless, but God is an expert at creating circumstances so that we find ourselves completely dependent on Him.

Hold Your Head High

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:5

Depression is one of the most common emotional ailments today.  In fact, there are more medications on the market to treat depression than almost any other disease.  There are times where I tend to feel a little ‘down and out’ about my current set of circumstances and it's easy to feel like God is distant and begin to lose hope...these past several months in particularly. 

One antidote for feeling 'down' is to meditate on all of God's wonderful  blessings and never-ending goodness that is recorded throughout the Bible.

It gives me hope to read about His promises and reminds me that God is who He says He is. Scripture also gives me proper perspective and helps me to focus my thoughts on God's ability to help me rather than on my inability to help myself.  That, my friends, is a good thing!!

Thorn In My Pride

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me...For when I am weak, I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

Just like Paul, we all have an area of weakness, or a "thorn in the flesh," as is mentioned in an earlier verse from this same passage of scripture from Corinthians. We do not know exactly what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was, but it was something that caused the apostle to remain humble and stay in constant contact with God.

Too many people often claim that "trouble makes you stronger." I tend to disagree. Once we recognize our limitations, we must rely on Christ for our strength.  We must rely on God for our effectiveness rather than depending on our own energy and individual efforts.

I have faced many situations that have left me feeling completely helpless, weak, and humbled, to say the least.  I have reached the point of having no choice but to rely on Christ for His strength and He certainly carried me through and still is carrying me through to this very day.

Allow God to fill you with His power and you will be stronger than you ever can be on your own!!

Always Something There To Remind Me

Remember the things I have done in the past.  For I alone am God!  I am God and there is none like me.  Isaiah 46:9

Periodically, and especially during adverse or difficult times, it’s easy to forget about the 'good' things God has done in our lives.  

When I struggle trust in God, it helps me to look back and remember just how He has worked in my life before, which, in turn, makes it easier for me to come to Him first when I need help in the present.

There are several ways, in addition to remembering the work God has done in our past, to help keep our focus on Him today…

When we have a sense of community-such as regularly attending church and Sunday School, or even joining a Life Group, we are more likely to share what God has done and is doing in our lives with others. 

Reading His Word also helps us to gain a perspective of how He has worked throughout history and His plans to share His many blessings with future generations.

When we try a few of these simple steps, we help ourselves acknowledge God’s hand in the past, present, and the future!

St. Judy's Comet

"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching." Proverbs 1:8

Both of our sons are masters in prolonging the nightly process of going to bed.   We have heard a litany of reasons over the past couple of years-everything from tummy-aches to bad dreams, Pennywise from the Stephen King novel 'It' (clowns are scary; sorry!) to simply just needing to go to the bathroom for the hundredth time. The other night, around 10:13 PM,  I heard movement coming from the boys' hallway. When I finally went to check on the boys, I caught our youngest son, Elijah still awake and watching YouTube on his iPad.  He was somewhat embarrassed that I caught him sneaking around after we had put him to bed for the night, so I sat down on the edge of his bed and talked with him.  When asked what he was still doing up, He simply replied, “Daddy, I am not tired.”  In a calm manner, I suggested that he get back into bed so that Mommy didn't hear him and he finally fell asleep a few moments later.    

Just like children have trouble understanding the importance of a good night’s rest, we too are in constant battle with God for control over our lives.  And being a loving parent, God is always communicating with us and for us to hear what He is trying to tell us, we must seek Him above all else in our lives.

You see, anything we pursue without talking to God about first, will most likely be in vein.  We must allow the Light of His Presence shine on all of our pursuits so that we can receive His help for the plans He has made for us or allow Him to change the desires of our hearts.

If we seek Him first and foremost, the rest of our lives will fall into place!

Don’t You (Forget About Me)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing you into a new person by changing the way you think.  The you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good pleasing and perfect.  Romans 12:2

Last week was another typically 'busy' week for me, but for whatever reason, I really struggled to reply to some personal emails I had received throughout the week and I felt guilty for not returning phone calls to a couple of friends who only wanted to catch up. 

Sometimes I feel like I have found the perfect balance in my life, and other times, I feel like the demands of my daily schedule are simply unmanageable.

Jesus modeled the perfect example of a life balanced between socializing and solitude, action and reflection, hard work and spiritual revitalization, and mission and meditation.  His pace allowed for Him to be guided by God’s perfect will instead of caving into the pressures of this world.  When you live a balanced life, you realize that every need and every opportunity are not necessarily the things God is calling you to do.

We must allow God to change our thinking to reflect His thinking and He will show us what to do and what not to do.  When we let Him direct our steps, we can then live according to His priorities and His will!

Under Control

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1

Our youngest son, Elijah, is into a variety of different things at the age of nine. In fact, Pokemon, Nintendo, Marvel and DC superheroes, and anything football and basketball.  Transformers are a mainstay and still 'all the rage' in the Fisher household and can be somewhat complex for a boy his age.  While the Transformers are totally awesome, the ones they make nowadays are sometimes even difficult for an old veteran like me to actually transform from a vehicle or aircraft mode to a robot and back... 

Just the other day, I was helping our Elijah transform his vast collection of robots and he grew impatient with me and wanted to help.  I kept telling him to be careful as he was forcing the plastic toy to where it would eventually break if he was not more careful.  After repeated attempts, he managed to break the arm off of one of the Autobots (the good Transformers) and was very disappointed.  I was eventually able to repair the broken toy and was also provided with the wonderful opportunity of teaching our son a valuable lesson.  In fact, I learned a little lesson from this incident as well…

You see, if you are like me, you have no problem giving God control over the ‘big’ or ‘important’ areas of your life.  I struggle, at times, to give God control over the small and day-to-day things.  I can face a number of situations and foolishly try and convince myself, “ You've got this, Will” or ”I can handle this on my own, God” and end up royally screwing everything up along the way.  Just like our son did with his broken toy, I will proceed to turn things over to God so that He can fix or repair the same things I thought I had under control. 

We must ask God to take control of our lives each and every day. One we have admitted our powerlessness and inability to manage our lives, we must come to a place in our faith where we decide to turn our will and lives over to God’s loving care.

Acknowledge the need for God’s guidance in our lives.  When He becomes our new manager, we must also choose to accept life on His terms as well.  God offers us a way to live that is free from our past, allowing us to enjoy new and wonderful experiences in accordance to His good and perfect will for our lives.  Thanks be to God!