Flags, fireworks, and frustrations…

Man, life can get so frustrating at times! Things seem to flare up at the most inopportune moments and it seems when one thing happens, another one pops its ugly head up to open the door for yet another one and BAM! The trifecta of super storms hits like a hurricane on a one-man island!

We have all had these times, haven’t we? The deal is life is not meant to be perfect. We can try for it, the word says to do so, but that is only meant for perfecting ourselves to become better. Not to expect the world around us to be perfect. Too many factors weigh in to make that perfect world impossible and improbable. So where am I going with this one? Down a two-lane highway…slow and steady. With every challenge we face, there’s a way through it. We just need to be alert to the right way and follow it so we can come out of it with little or no dust to shake off.

There are times when we create our own challenges, we speak out when we should just be quiet and listen, or we jump before we think it through. A lot of us are like that, except One, He sees the end from the beginning…kind of amazing. So, why doesn’t He let us see like that as well, we may ask…the answer is quite simple…because we would try to change it to meet our own way of doing things and mess it all up!

Here’s a way to look at it a little differently…every challenge we meet is a challenge to become better through it. WHAT??? Yes. God doesn’t purposely put things in our path to grow our faith or teach us a lesson. He has always known since the fall of man in the garden that we would have struggles, temptations, trials, and major challenges because the fall of man turned this world over to the enemy’s hands and that dude doesn’t want anybody happy and he has his own challenge to overcome…pride! Doubtful that he does…well, he won’t, and he won’t stop with himself, he wants to get everyone over on his side, and that is the biggest challenge of all…not falling into the pride side of life.

How do we do that? Here’s a start…we should not ever be so prideful that we cannot ask for help, offer help, or be a help to others. We should not ever be so prideful that we think we know better than others, can do better than others or bring shame to anyone else’s name. Pride is a challenge all to itself because in every situation we face, pride can stand in the way of a successful outcome. The word says in 1 Peter 5:5 “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.” Personally, I do not want to be resisted by God! What does that even mean?? Well, to resist means to oppose, take a stand against, prevent, block…need I say more?

God’s grace is sufficient to get us through every challenge we face. All we have to do is trust in Him and receive the grace He has for us. That grace is unmerited, unearned favor. We don’t have to do anything to receive it…how is that possible? Because Jesus did it all for us. He took back what was taken in the garden, and He became one for all and all for one purpose…overcoming the sin, sickness, disease and death of this world. We don’t have to do anything but believe with our heart and confess with our mouth that He did it! Now there’s a challenge that is worth facing! All the rest is just dust in the wind.

And speaking of the wind…

That’s where I hope to see you next time…

Mary G.