Who Moved?

Life has made me weary, tired and I feel like I am constantly at battle on one front or another. I feel abandon, I feel alone and start to wonder where is God in all this.  He used to be so close to me. He is supposed to have my back, that whole footprints in the sand thing. He is supposed to be carrying me right now, but here I am fighting this battle alone. I get angry! I begin to question everything. Where did God go? Why did He leave me? But the reality is He didn't go anywhere.  I did. I think Robin Jones Gunn said it best "If you feel far from God, guess who moved?"
 

^"People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord." Proverbs 19:3 (NLT)

It is here, in the Word of the Lord I once again find my answer. I have made mistakes, and I haven't been doing things the way I should and now that I am embattled I look to blame God.  We are all sinners and we know that, we all make mistakes

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"  Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

But for the grace of God, we also know that we are forgiven, I am forgiven

"I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus." 1 John 2:12 (NLT)

The Grace of God, is the most powerful and wonderful thing, because without it we would surely be lost, we know we are sinners, I know I am a sinner, that I have and will continue to fall short, that knowing the rules and what I should be doing isn't going to be enough for me, if it were, then why would we need Jesus? We needed Jesus to make the ultimate sacrifice because we will fall short.

"I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die."  Galatians 2:21 (NLT)

 So, if we are sinners and we are going to fail and sin again and again because it is our nature, what hope do we have? This is were we all lose focus and lose steam.  Yes, we will sin, yes we will make mistakes but that does not mean we are hopeless, and that does not mean that we should give up.  We are in a constant battle with the enemy and we must work and make the choice to submit our will to the Lord and to allow Him to guide us down the paths of our lives.  Starting with making the choice, to spend time reading the bible, and getting to know His word, and going to church, celebrating and giving thanks and praise with God's people. Letting all our voices and hearts ring out in praise together. I know for me, this has been my first problem.  I stop going to Church, because it is easier to stay in bed, or say I want more time at home, I start not spending time reading the bible and exploring God's word because I am tired or don't have enough time.  This is where the separation begins, how can I expect to be close to God, when I am not taking the time to be close to Him.  I expect Him to put in all the work, and save me when I am in trouble, but yet I am seemingly unwilling to give anything of myself to Him.  It is essential to our souls to spend time in the word of God, it is what helps us to submit to His will and let Him guide our hands, or essentially Let Jesus take the wheel as Carrie Underwood would say.  We know God, through His word in the bible. 

"Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."  Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)

It is when we stray off the path, that we realize we are far from God.  When I stop reading my bible, when I stop going to Church is seems everything else starts to get worse.  My shoulders start to hurt from the weight I must carry alone.  As I go further and further into the wilderness, and get further and further away from the light of God, I soon begin to realize the night is dark and full of terrors.  There are traps and storms all around me. I feel weary and tired from battle and of course I start to blame God. But it has always been me at fault, I have stopped doing the things I need to do, stopped lighting my path with the word of God and now I am out on my own or at least feeling that way, God has never left my side, it was me, who left His. It was me that has wandered.  Now I must find my way back, and thankfully we are always welcomed back.  No matter where we go, or what I do I can always come home. I can always be close to God, I just have to make the first move.

^7"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. ⁹ Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour." James 4:7-10 (NLT)

I want God, to lift me up in honour.  I want God to be my shield. God provides us with all the armour and protection we need in this world if we chose to us it, 

"Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.^{[b] 16} In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.^{[c] 17} Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:13-17 (NLT)

So it is then, in the full armour of God that we feel His presence, it is then that He can carry us through the most trying times of our lives, it is then that He takes the wheel.
Now as I begin to enter another battle, as I see another fight I must face, I am not afraid, I have no doubts or no worries because 

"...If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" Romans 8:31 (NLT)

Read my bible, go to church, remember to praise and worship and keep the Lord close, and I will never walk alone!

PRAISE GOD!!!

I ain't never scared!

Our lives are sometimes filled with so many mistakes and disappointments that we can become quite overwhelmed.  So often trials and tribulations convince us to give up our goals because it is too hard or too much.  All sorts of voices whisper, we are not good enough, we are not talented enough, or even, we do not deserve it.  But God, has told us that is not true.  He has said He has our back.  God will support us and give us the ability to over come all things.  

"... If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" Romans 8:13 (NLT)

We must remember this in our everyday lives, we have been given the ability to stand against all things in Faith.  Faith is our strongest weapon against all out trials, tribulations and temptations. With God and faith nothing is impossible, this is promised to us as Christians and followers of Christ.  Jesus, Himself, told us with faith there is nothing that is impossible for us, and it wouldn't even take endless amounts of faith, just the smallest amount of real faith would make all things possible.

 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20 (NLT)

"Nothing would be impossible" that is a huge statement, NOTHING! That is because nothing can stand before God.
 
“I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.” Isaiah 45:23 (NLT)

God has you back, you should fear nothing! Have faith, pray diligently to God and you will over come all roadblocks put in your way.  There is fear, of course, but God has given you all the armour and protection you need.  You have access to the full Armour of God

"Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil." Ephesians 6:11 (NLT)

The enemy wants us to fail, wants us to feel downtrodden and defeated, because it is as these time where he can build strongholds in our hearts, when we feel defeated and lost, they enemy is winning.  He is succeeding in separating us from the unfailing love of God. But we are never lost, never out of sight of Jesus, He told us, He will leave the 99 to come and get us.

“'If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. ⁶ When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!'" Luke 15:4-7 (NLT)

 I declare, God will never leave you alone, you are never defeated, you are never lost. God had you in the palm of His Hand. 

"Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands;" Isaiah 49:16 (AMP)

God will never forget about us, or leave us alone, He has given us the means to fight any battle that lays before us, we have spoken about the full armour of God already, but He has even described it to us, and told us how to wear it correctly.

 ^"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God " Ephesians 6:14-17 (NKJV)

Stand therefore, not run, not hide not be afraid but stand! Stand up to anything and everything that confronts you and tries to defeat you.  You will notice that there is no armour for our backs, because we are never intended to run from things. God has our backs, we shall walk boldly and righteously into battle, against temptation, addiction, lack, sickness, evil and hate.  Through Christ, we are promised victory. We have nothing to fear, we should never be afraid, should never be scared.

 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

 You can overcome everything that is standing in your way today, tomorrow and always.  God, has your back! 

Praise God!!