Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Turn it Over

Some of the greatest advice I ever received was from my big brother, Wimberly. One day we sat in the living room at my parents’ home and he listened while I poured my heart out about some things I was going through. At the time, I was VERY overwhelmed with guilt, sadness, hurt, anger and disappointment. Through tears I told my brother that if I did a few things differently I could make everything better. Although I had been unsuccessfully working on the same problem for a number of years, I refused to give up. I had a plan and I would win!
My brother stopped my ranting and said something that has stuck with me from that day to this—something that has made a world of difference in how I handle situations. He reminded me that I am NOT God and have no control over ANYONE else. He suggested that I stop trying to fix things, stop trying to force people to be people they are not, and COMPLETELY turn my situation over to the Lord. Just because I created the problem didn’t mean I had to solve it. In fact, that was my biggest mistake—trying to handle a situation that God wanted to handle for me.

He was right.

The problem: For many years I had been unsuccessfully trying to fix a problem I had created. My failure made me feel terrible about myself and prevented me from growing and moving forward. I was stuck, bitter, and mad at myself and everyone else. The enemy laughed.

The solution: JESUS!

The lesson: We often find ourselves in quicksand because we ignore the warning signs. We use all our strength to get out, but can’t. Our inability to rescue ourselves leads to more and more frustration. God, however, is standing near holding His hand out and offering to pull us out and safely place us back on solid ground. Yet we look away, flail our arms, and sink even more. How silly is that?

It is IMPOSSIBLE for us to solve our problems better than the Master can. He knows what is best for ALL involved, and He is able to thoroughly rectify problems in a way where there is nothing we can do but give Him the praise. He wants us to give our problems to Him and leave them there. As hard as it may be, you have to! We are His beloved. Trust that He will work it out every time.

My testimony: I am 100% confident that EVERYTHING will be just fine. The stress has been lifted. I am much happier, content, and secure knowing that the One who created the world, the One who holds the future, the One who can do anything He wants to do is working everything out for me. And I give Him the praise! The Devil has been DEFEATED. I have the VICTORY. God gets the GLORY!

“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” (Psalms 55:22)

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

2 comments:

  1. Oh My Goodness!!! Guess what??? I needed this morning also!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow...I didn't think you were listening...smile

    ReplyDelete