Real Answers

"Heal me, O LORD,

and I will be healed;

save me

and I will be saved,

for you are the one I praise."

Jeremiah 17:14

Self-help books line the shelves at the local bookstore.  Advice on how to get through any difficulty can be found all around me.  Experts are eager to share their methods of restoration or treatment for a wide variety of disorders, sicknesses, relationship problems, ailments or difficulties.  Relief can come from many sources.

Relief, but not peace.  Alleviation, but not healing.  A Band-Aid, but not a cure.

How can I find lasting peace, healing and a genuine cure for the issues that plague me?  


God.  

When I allow God to have access to my life, giving it over to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, the work He accomplishes in my life will be authentic, powerful and enduring.

Allow Him

Have you ever tried to make a 2-year-old eat his peas, use the toilet, or go to sleep?  If you have, you know it boils down to a battle of the wills. My will against his will.  I can't make him do any of these things.  I can make him stay at the table, sit on the potty and lay in his bed, but I can't force him to eat, go to the bathroom or fall asleep.  He must bend his will to mine in order for compliance to occur.

It is the same with me and God.  He can't force me to do anything because He created me with my own ability to desire and choose for myself.  If I don't yield to Him, He can't have access to my life.  If He did try to force His way on me, He would only succeed in my stubborn will pushing back against His.  And although His will is much stronger than mine, He is a loving and gracious God who waits for me to surrender to Him before He works in my life.

When I allow God the right of entry into my heart, He will accomplish mighty works never before experienced in my existence.  A changed heart. . .a healed hurt. . .a restored relationship. . .the way of salvation. . .

If I want real change to happen in my life, it will only come from bending my will to God's, and allowing Him to have His way.

Seek Him

My husband has a buddy who is preparing for his first bodybuilding show.  His friends and family are telling him that he needs to step up the cardio training if he wants to be ready in time but he insists that he'll be prepared.  When he looks in the mirror, he is not seeing what everyone else is seeing.  He is only seeing what he wants to see.

It's the same with me.  I can look at myself or my situation and only see what I want to see.  If I focus on the negative, I will only see the harmful and destructive things happening around me.  

If I concentrate on my own abilities, I will think victory depends on me.  

If I home in on my accomplishments, I will see my success and position in life as a result of my effort.

God is a jealous God.  As my Creator, He belongs in the highest position of importance in my life. But it is easy to let other things creep into that top position.  When this happens, I fail to recognize His hand in my life.  

The Israelites were no different in their struggles with this kind of rebellion against God's rightful position.  In fact, God gave this message to the prophet Ezekiel regarding His chosen ones.  ". . .you are living among a rebellious people.  They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people."  (Ezekiel 12:2)

When I seek God, I will find Him.  And when I find Him, I will see the world around me with new eyes. . . eyes that are focused on Him and His wonders! 

If I truly want to see the reality of God's continuous work in all the details of my life, I have to look with new eyes.  

Wait for Him

I love keeping track of the weather forecasts.  There is something about knowing what kind of conditions I can expect for the day that makes me happy.  I do notice, however, that no man can truly predict whether or not it will rain, for instance, with 100% accuracy.  God set the planet into motion in a predictable way, allowing scientists to study patterns and correctly guess how things will turn out based on their data, but God is still in control.  

He could throw a wrench into those expectations by making it snow when rain was expected.  Or He could turn a hurricane over the ocean when everyone was expecting it to continue over land.  Or He could calm a stormy sea with a single command. 

Life is no different than the weather.  I may think I will get a certain outcome if I take a certain step, but all things are under God's dominion.  I may have an order in which I want events to occur, but God is in charge of the timing.  I may think I have God mostly figured out, but then He throws me a curve ball.

Once again, God used Ezekiel to address this issue of His sovereignty with His people. God said, "Son of man (Ezekiel), the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.'  Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: None of my words will be delayed any long; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign LORD.'"  (Ezekiel 12:27-28) 

I can't predict the timing of any events in my life, nor can I control them.  Instead, God holds the position of authority over my life and it is better if I wait for Him and His timing.  After all, who knows the mind of God or understands His ways?

If I want to live a life of inner peace it will only happen if I wait on Him and trust Him for His timing.  

I can find relief or remedies from many different sources.  But if I want real answers, I must allow God access to my heart, seek Him so I can see all the good He is doing around me, and wait on His perfect timing for all things.  

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will seek the real answers that come from knowing God on a personal level.

When do I turn to other sources for a quick fix?

How do I betray my impatience in the way I fail to wait for God to provide my needs or solve my problems?

Who is in Control?

"Humble yourselves, therefore,

under God's mighty hand,

that he may lift you up in due time.

Cast all your anxiety on him

because he cares for you."

1 Peter 5:6-7

"I can't do it anymore." These words slipped from my friend's mouth amidst the streaming tears as she poured out her heartache.  She was giving her all to her family, but they were showing nothing but contempt and ingratitude.  Defeat was written all over her face.

As we spoke, poring over scripture and submitting ourselves to God, an amazing transformation took place.  Hopelessness turned to faith.  Despair became optimism.  Defeat was transformed into triumph.  The Holy Spirit was at work.

This kind of progression can be studied in the book of Psalms where David began by crying out to God in despair and ended by praising Him in a spirit of great hope and worshipfulness.  Only God's Spirit can create this dramatic transformation in a person's soul.  

Control

I can make it work, I just need to try harder.  I don't know if you've ever said this to yourself, but I have many times.  Whether it be in trying to control my temper, accomplishing tasks throughout the day, or in strengthening my marriage, the fact remains that I am not the one in control.  

Pastor and writer Dick Rasanen shares this desire to be in command as a prayer.  "Dear God, I find it so easy to try to be the one in charge.  I find it so painful to realize that I am not the one in control.  Help me know when saying "I just work here" that it is a confession and not just a way of evading responsibility."

Isaiah 40 is a good place to start in reminding myself where I stand in the scheme of things.  "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." (v 6-8)  

I am small and fragile in comparison to the mighty, everlasting God who created me!  How can I hope to control anything?

God's message through the prophet Isaiah continues with, "Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?  Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way?  Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?" (v 13-14)  Not only am I feeble and frail, but I have no comprehension of the workings of things.  

As if that's not enough, God then reminds me of his power as compared to my weakness. "Do you not know?  Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (v 28-29)  God will never say, "I can't do it anymore."

God is better equipped to remain in control than am I.  

Humble

Even though it is painfully clear that I am ill-equipped and completely unable to direct my own paths, there is a little something called "pride" that drives me to try anyway.  

My pride says I have something to do with my own destiny, whether negative or positive.  My pride pushes my own desires, hurts, and problems to the forefront and all else to the background.  My pride won't let me forget myself.

Humility, however, helps me to realize the truth that God directs my footsteps. Humility elevates others' desires, hurts and problems to the same level of importance as my own.  Humility allows me to forget myself and my desire to defend my reputation, thinking only of God and His Name.

The crazy thing about humility is that if I feel in a rut, if it seems I'm in a pit so deep that I can't climb out, if I think that I can't get any lower, the answer is to lower myself to a position that recognizes that I am nothing without my Creator.  I must admit that all I have, all I am, all I own is a gift from God.  

When I have bowed before the Lord as low as I can get, with my face in the dirt, He does something amazing.  As James wrote in Chapter 4 verse 10 of his letter to God's people scattered throughout the region, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." 

It runs counter to my understanding to lower myself in order to be lifted up, but the key lies in Who is doing the elevating.

Yield

I encounter the familiar red triangular sign quite often when driving around my town.  My first instinct when pulling up beside it is to think how I can dart out into traffic without having to wait.  In reality, this sign means, "it is (my) responsibility to slow down, look to the right and left and yield to oncoming traffic." *

As a driver, I am under the authority of the law of the land.  If the sign says "Yield", then I must let the other cars go first or I am at risk of earning a ticket from a law enforcement official.  

In the same way, I must surrender to and submit to God as the ultimate authority in my life.  Since He says to yield to Him, I must let Him go first, allowing Him to lead the way in my life. 

As David said in Psalm 25:8-9, "Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.  He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way."  Submitting myself to God means yielding to his authority and power in every part of my life and letting Him have His way.  

God has all the answers if I would only yield to His power.

My friend was right, she can't do it anymore.  She never could, and neither can I.  Instead, I can recognize that God is the One who is in control of all things.  I can humble myself before Him, giving me the ability to yield to His Spirit as Lord of my life.

Now I can do it, because it is God who is working it out through me!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will recognize God's dominion over all things.

When do I fall into a pit as I focus only on the mess that is all around me instead of on the great power of God?

In what areas do I rely on my own feeble strength instead of submitting to God's undying strength?

* http://www.scdmvonline.com/DMVNew/forms/Signs.pdf