Return. Refocus. Reunite / Reconcile.

LET GOD BE YOUR STEERING WHEEL

A few days ago when reading and studying the Bible, including Psalm 62, I wrote,

Whatever happens
God is our refuge and strength
our place of comfort and rest.
Abide in Me, God says
Abide in Me.
The problems are still present
but by concentrating on Me,
you allow Me to take control,
to take charge of the situation
and bring it to pass.

And then anger struck

and instead of concentrating on Jesus,
I concentrated on what made me angry.

Instead of allowing Jesus to take control
and take charge, Satan took charge

The anger grew by leaps and bounds
as pain and disappointment and irritation and frustration
and miscommunication
wormed their way to the surface
of our hearts and spewed its way out of our mouths
with no evidence of kindness or gentleness
or patience or self-control.

Failed!

God tested
and what He saw brought no rejoicing,
but only deep sadness and extreme disappointment

Is it worth it!? -- to let our anger over whatever
come between our personal relationship with and love for
the Lord Jesus?

If we truly love the Lord -- but we are human -- yes, and as humans, we make mistakes
and errors and have failings, but we do not and should not succumb to being failures.

God knows we will fail, for we are not perfect. If we were, there would have been no reason for God to send His Son to us to save us from eternal destruction, death.

So He knows how we are. But He also knows who we are -- His -- personally created and designed for Him and His purpose. He knows what is uniquely us, even though we often are way off track. We travel routes that do not seek the goodness of God. We are concerned with ourselves and in our interactions with others, instead of seeking God's response, we jump in, saying whatever comes to mind. And there we fail.

Return.
Refocus.
Reunite / Reconcile.

Let God be your steering wheel -- not just for prayer time or Bible study, or any old some time, but ALL the time.

Consider your every action -- what you speak and what you do, so it will be pleasing to the one who hears and sees and most especially, so it will be pleasing and glorifying to our Heavenly Father.

It's not about me. It's about God. The sooner we see that and acknowledge it and respond accordingly, "me" time will be "God" time and we will each see the unique person we are -- the one God designed.

Love God. Love Him more. Love yourself less. It is not our personal wants and needs that will get us where we need to be. The steps to take are
Returning to God
Refocusing on God
Reuniting and Reconciling with God

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides me Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15: 4-5 NKJV)

WE ARE, BUT WE ARE NOT

God tells us in 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9,

"We are hard pressed on every side,
we are perplexed,
persecuted, struck down ...

yet,

we are not crushed,
not in despair
not forsaken
not destroyed.

We act like we are what we're not. Jesus says we are not crushed, we are not in despair, we are not forsaken, we are not destroyed, yet we act like we are. We give in to the pressure around us. We believe we are failures. We fail to see God's goodness and our intense need for Him and all He is and all we can be through Him.

God sent the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts when we accepted God's Son, Jesus, as our personal Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit was sent to teach us God's way and to enable us to remember all things Jesus has said.

ARE YOU OPEN OR CLOSED?

How can we learn if we are not willing to be taught and willing to change?

How can we remember if we are not in His word daily, reading and studying?

How can we know what to remember and what is true?

Clinging to the past, to the way you've always done it, does not bring us clsoer to God.

God's attention is on us -- where does our attention lie? Are we focused on Him or are we centered on "me"?

Fear grows
Anxiety

Where is your security?

Why do you fear what may come?

If you belong to Jesus, you have your security. Not just for eternity, but here and now. Look to Him for your answers, instead of relying on your own eyes and ears and thinking.

We do not see the whole picture. We are incomplete. We see very dimly. We look in the mirror, but that is only a reflection of ourselves.

We/you/I need Jesus TODAY, TOMORROW, THIS MINUTE, ALL THE TIME.

Live in the Light of His Word,
not in the dullness and darkness
of yourself and of the world

Come.

Return
to Jesus

Refocus
on Jesus

Reunite/Reconcile
with Jesus

and be who you are meant to be.

(c) Cathy Orrick Luders

written Dec. 28-31, 2014