Putting Things Off

 And [won't] God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? Luke 18:7 NIV Bible

I remember a time where I kept putting things off!  I will read my bible later. I will clean my house later. I will call those who are lonely, sometime later. I will exercise later. I will eat more healthy later. I will loose weight later. I'll turn it over to the Lord, later. And the list goes on and on and on!

But the thing is, the Lord God made us a priority. Jesus knowing He was going to be crucified to save us from our sins didn't say, "This isn't a good time for Me. I will think about it and maybe I will do it sometime later." It wasn't that making my weight loss or my eating a priority, made the difference. It was that putting my relationship with Christ first, was what made the difference!

When I turned my control over into His very capable hands in matters of food, weight, eating, stress, stressful chores, things I needed to do, or things I didn't want to do, my life took a totally different course! When I turned to the Lord God in all matters, good, bad, stressful, and indifferent, my life fell into place, and once the control was in the Lord's hands, all those things got taken care of, but were nowhere as important as my relationship with Jesus Christ. I have to admit, I still put things off until later, but the Lord shows me what I need to do, one step at a time!

What's in a Name?

 All the prophets testify of Him, that everyone who believes in Him, receives forgiveness of sins through His Name.  Acts 10:43 NIV Bible 

What's in a Name? One of my earlier memories is being called names, because I was the slow, pudgy girl that the teams picked last. Those names hurt me personally, and effected what I thought about myself for many years. I carried their name calling in my head, as if those names accurately described who I am.

When I got married, I had a new last name. It was like having a married name, could possibly erase all that negative self-talk I had within me all those years from my childhood. The thing is, when I looked to my husband to bolster my self-esteem, I was looking in the wrong place. It wasn't his name that made the difference!

It was when I started turning exclusively to the Name of the Lord God, my self-esteem was healed. Sure, it took some time, but when I would star to slip back into old counter-productive feelings and patterns, Christ would pick me back up and dust me off, and lead me in the way that that I needed to go, and that most definitely didn't include going around licking my wounds from my childhood! He healed me, and showed me that my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior was all I needed to heal my aching soul. That's because:  All the prophets testify of Him, that everyone who believes in Him, receives forgiveness of sins through His Name.  Acts 10:43 NIV Bible 

Just One More Time

 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me just make one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew." Judges 6:39 NIV Bible

How many times do I test God? How many times do I push my eating program He's shown me, to the limit, wanting Him to save me from myself! There are those times where I feel that compulsion sneaking up on me and I say, "Lord, save me from myself and these overwhelming urges." He does do that, when I ask Him.

On the other hand, How many times do I want to eat what I want to eat, and put blinders over my eyes like they do for horses carrying passengers in the city, so that don't get spooked by what they see going on around them? Well, I'd have to tell you that I've done this more times than I'd like to admit. There are those times when I just want to eat it, and later say, "Oh, I've forgotten what You've shown me. Please take away all my extra weight that I might potentially gain by doing this." 

The thing is, God doesn't want us to try to manipulate Him for our own causes. Sure, He's there to assist us along the way, but it's my impression that He doesn't take kindly to times I'm trying to pretend I've forgotten what's healthy for me and what's not.  At least in the first situation I mentioned in this post, it's honest, open communication with the Lord God, unlike the second situation mentioned. There's a lot in this post for me to be prayerful about!!!

Wandering Around in Confusion!

 Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' Exodus 14:3 NIV Bible

This passage really struck a cord with me! Often in situations in my life, I've been in situations wandering around in confusion, hemmed in by self-doubts, etc. Times where I think I'm good enough to do one thing or another. Times when I'm trying to make a major decision and don't want to make a fool-hardy mistake. Times when I'm feeling insecure about what I've said and whether I've offended someone. 

As I write this, I find that this list could go on and on and on, but I will stop for your sake! In each of these situations I mentioned, and all the many situations that are still at the tip of my mind, they all had a very simple solution. If I turned to Jesus Christ when I'm feeling inadequate to do things, or I'm trying to make a decision, or I'm feeling insecure about what I've said, not only would my anxiety over these things be taken away, but the Lord's guidance is superb! 

He knows what is best. Christ knows whether I should do a certain thing, or decide a certain thing. He can heal the heart of the person that I'm concerned about, so that whatever I've said doesn't become an issue for them. Also, I can pray for the Peace Which Passes All Understanding, so that Jesus gives me that calm where I'm no longer fretting over these matters, because they are in the Lord God's very capable hands.