Hard Times part 5
I've been trying to use this Rant series to encourage people. I think that's really the point of ministry. To edify people. To train them up in the way they should go. And so, to that effect, I want to end this Rant series by kind of looking at the other side of the coin. "And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" (Mark 10:24). Which is to say, we bring a lot of hardships upon ourselves. In this world we WILL have tribulation. I get that. The hardest part of life is living. At the same time, we often makes things harder for ourselves. When Jesus spoke of the robber, who came only to steal and to kill and destroy, I believe He was talking about US. Because He said the theif is the one who tries to enter the sheepfold any other way but through the door. It's a hard deal trusting in anything or anybody but the Lord. We rob (from ourselves) the gift that has been given. We make things so much harder than they need to be. God wants us to be still and know that He is God. We seem to think the best option is to run around like chickens with their heads cut off. God wants us to rest. We seem to think the best option is to work. Spiritually speaking, works don't work. You can't earn a gift. And you certainly can't earn a gift that has already been given unto you. All you can do at that point is receive it and release it. All you ought to do is let what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. Hard times come. That's life, man. But we don't have to feed into those things. We don't have to make things harder on ourselves (or each other). Love is maximum effort, but that doesn't always mean it has to be hard. It should flow out of your innermost being because you are filling yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. I tell the cookie story a lot, because it really opened my eyes. I love cookies. I'm more of a cookie monster than a cookie giver. So when I was at work, and I had ONE cookie that I had been staring at all day long, just waiting for the right time to chow down on that bad boy... and my co-worker started talking about being hungry and not having a lunch... I just shrugged and gave my cookie away. And it wasn't hard. It was a sacrifice, sure, but it didn't hurt. It felt good to see a need and meet it. Love really is our nature. When we stop focusing on everything else and let God's love for us overwhelm us... that's when it can come out through us. What you feed is what will grow. What you magnify in your life is what will manifest in your life. If you magnify the hard times, they will just get bigger and harder. But if you put your trust in the Lord--where it belongs--there is nothing too hard for Him. He's been there, done that, got the t-shirt. So let go and let God. Don't make things harder than they need to be. And when things ARE hard... be still and know that HE is God. Know that God is love. And know that love will carry us through whatever it is we have to go through. That's encouraging, right? Right!