But what about Mondays?

 

Trusting in the Lord is not always easy. Honestly, trusting in general is often hard. People let us down. Times are hard. We put our faith in things that disappoint us. In people that fall short.

Thankfully, God is totally trustworthy. Do you believe that?

If you’re unsure, look at a few verses with me.

Numbers 23:19 KJV - God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Deuteronomy 7:9 KJV - Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Psalm 9:10 KJV - And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Deuteronomy 31:6 KJV - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Are you convinced yet?

“Oh, but that’s Old Testament, you say.” Okay. Let’s jump into the New Testament then.

Hebrews 10:23 KJV - Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;

Philippians 4:19 KJV - But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 KJV - Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Need I go on?

The trustworthiness of God is revealed all throughout the pages of scripture. Countless stories reveal his perfect character and prove God keeps his promises.

If you have put your faith in Christ Jesus and call yourself one of his children, then you have proved that you trust him with your eternal destiny. This shows that you believe he will do what he has promised. You believe that you have a home in Heaven. You believe that he forgives sins. You believe that you have been justified, redeemed, chosen, loved and bought with a price.

Why is it then, that we so readily trust him with our lives and yet we don’t trust him with our Mondays?

What do I mean?

Well, we say we trust him. But when Monday rolls around, we begin to fret and to worry. We’re concerned we won’t be able to pay our bills. We worry about our health. We worry about what will happen if we lose our job or our house or the car breaks down for the 4^th time.

How is it that we trust him in the big things like where we’ll go when we die, and then we don’t trust him to enough to provide for us. We worry about how we’ll make our paycheck stretch to afford the grocery bill? We don’t trust him quite enough to supply the small things.

Hands up if you’re guilty. Me too. Me too.

Just today I’ve been struggling with some disappointing news. Something I thought was finally an answer to prayer. Long prayed for and finally coming to fruition and then a spanner was thrown in the works yet again. And instantly my mood began to change. A cloud began to form over my head and the doubts arose.

How was this going to work? And why would God let it happen? And what was the solution? And sadly, I confess, the question arose in my head, not exactly worded like this but it was basically what we all do, “how can I help God out with this problem?”.

Stupid, right? Who do I think I am that I think I would even begin to be able to ‘help’ him out? As if the creator of all the earth and sky needs my help.

I am reminded of a well-known verse found in Proverbs.

Proverbs 3:5,6 KJV - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

We know this verse so well, some of us having had it memorized since early childhood. But do we actually put it into practice?

That word ‘lean’ is not a casual leaning. In Hebrew, it actually means ‘to put your whole weight on’. So, we can put all our weight, all our cares, all our fears on God with all our hearts and as we acknowledge his greatness and his ability, he will direct our path.

And sometimes, directing our path means allowing things to go dark for a bit so we can see his light. So, we can follow his leading.

I became a Christian at an early age and over the years I have grown to love the Lord more and more as he has proved himself faithful and trustworthy. I have never yet doubted that he died for me on that cross. I have never doubted that he has all power and all authority and will swing wide heaven’s doors so I can enter in. Washed. Cleansed. Seen as righteous.

But all too often I doubt he can do the small things. I worry he won’t provide. I worry he won’t work out the problem I’m facing.

What about Mondays?

Are you trusting him with the everyday? With the little things. With the mundane. With the minor annoyances. With the unpaid bill. With the broken-down car. With the job rejection.

How often do we read on to verse 7 in Proverbs chapter 3?

Proverbs 3:7 KJV - Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Do you see what it says there? Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Don’t think your understanding is best. Don’t think that you have it all figured out. God has ways of showing us very clearly that we don’t!

The Bible tells us we are like a fool if we follow our own wisdom instead of God’s.

Proverbs 26:12 KJV - Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Today, I needed the reminder that the God who holds the universe in his hands, can handle my Mondays, or Tuesdays or any day for that matter.

If it matters to me, it matters to him.

Big or small. Whatever it is. He knew about it before time began and he is able to take care of it. Without our help, I might add!

Our job is to trust. To wait. To submit. To obey.

He is able to do more than we ask or even think.

Ephesians 3:20 KJV - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

What an awesome God!                   

 

When the Enemy Attacks, 

Fly Higher

 

(Sometimes I find myself in need of a sermon preached to myself. This is the case today. The enemy is rearing his ugly head and trying to thwart God's plans, and in light of that, I was reminded of something I wrote a couple of years ago that needed revisiting)

I read something really interesting the other day regarding eagles and crows. There’s a reason a group of crows is called a “murder of crows”. Not a very complimentary name, is it?

Crows are often called the ‘gangsters of the sky’ and the reason they’re given this title is because their attacks are cunning, crafty and overwhelming to their unsuspecting victims.

They may be smaller in size in comparison to other birds, but their sense of entitlement pushes them to lay claim to anything appealing and they don’t have a preference as to what or who stands in their way.

Not only are crows cunning and crafty, but they are also thieves. Hunting takes a lot of energy, and so they resort to theft of another’s food.

Individually, they are small, but together, they are a powerful force. They are intelligent and they are fast. Doing a little research, I found that the jury is still out on a correct number, but it seems that crows can fly at speeds of up to 100 km per hour!

Crows don’t ‘fight fair’. They will use their numbers to intimidate and confuse their victims, with their incessant cries and their tag-team tactics, they slowly wear down their victim.

But there is an interesting scenario that has been witnessed and photographed many times. A lone crow will choose an eagle to torment. An eagle! One of the largest of birds, powerful, grand, and the strongest bird of prey.

The crow will dive bomb an eagle, peck at it, pull its feathers and sometimes land on its back. It’s hard to imagine that the eagle, an undisputed king of the air, predatory and powerful, would be so tormented by a common crow.

They do this for many reasons. Sometimes it’s simply the fact that crows are territorial and are not keen on sharing spaces. Another reason is for protection of their young, they often keep in groups to keep predators from getting too close to their nests. And as I mentioned before, they are thieves. Hunting for food is time consuming and difficult, so if a crow can steal another’s birds’ eggs or food, they will gladly do so. By using numbers to their advantage, they can often distract a larger bird and catch them unaware.

If a ‘murder’ of crows begins to torment an eagle, or a brave lone crow decides to take on an eagle on its own, the eagle does something very clever.

Before I tell you what that is, remember, that although the eagle is more powerful, the crows are incessant and don’t give up easily. They will chase their opponent for miles and miles. Pecking, dive-bombing, using their loud cry ‘caw-caw’ to drive their victim into a state of confusion and frustration which leads to mistakes being made and harm being done, or food being stolen.

So, what is this clever, ingenious way the eagle has to defeat the crow? Keep in mind that despite the eagle being one of the deadliest birds of prey, they are not eager to get hurt as this could damage their hunting prowess and cause a food shortage.

When a crow or many crows attack, the eagle does what it does best. It climbs higher. It turns its focus upwards and heads for heights that a crow cannot reach.

The eagle can fly to heights of 10 000 feet, while a crow can only reach 7000 feet. Anything above that and the crow will become dizzy and faint due to their lung capacity being so much smaller than an eagles.

When a crow is on its tail, its only option is to fly higher. It can only really be safe when it reaches an altitude that the crow can no longer reach, which causes him to give up on the fight.

Okay, so what to do with all this information about eagles and crows.

Did all this talk of cunning, craftiness, theft, incessant cries and torment remind you of anyone?

The Devil.

We are told that our enemy, the Devil is a thief and a liar, he prowls around seeking to devour us. He desires to bring us down, to defeat us. He wants to intimidate us, rob us, hurt us.

When God is about to bless us, the Devil is close by, ready to snatch it out of our grasp. He is relentless, and his whispers of lies, negativity and accusations hope to wear us down, pecking at our minds, pulling at us from every angle.

So, what are we to do when the Devil hops on our back and begins his persistent attack? We turn our gaze upward and climb higher.

We don’t stick around, dwelling on the negative and harmful thoughts. We don’t focus on the attack, listening to the voices. We focus our attention upward.

We have to forget what the enemy is doing and remember what God has already done. Satan is already a defeated foe. Christ has already won the victory.

We have to go where the enemy can’t follow. Higher. Upwards. Into the presence of God.

Easy to say, but how do we do that practically? Where is God’s presence?

Look at this verse in the Psalms.

Psalm 22:3 KJV - But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

This verse tells us that God inhabits the praises of his people. In other words, one way we can defeat the enemy is with our praise and worship of God!

If you’re still unconvinced, let me give you some examples in scripture where an act of praise and worship caused bonds to break and victories to be won.

David’s worship caused an evil spirit to flee from Saul (1 Samuel 16:23)

Paul and Silas’ worship broke their chains and freed them from prison (Acts 16:24-26)

Jehosaphat and the people of Israel praised God and God fought the battle for them (2 Chronicles 20:19-22)

Don’t ever underestimate the power of thanksgiving, praise and worship. When the enemy is attacking and you make the choice to praise God and focus your attention on what he has done in the past and what he will do in the future, the Devil has no choice but to fall back.

We have to focus our attention on getting higher. We have to rise above the circumstance, the depression, the hurt, the fear, the doubt. We have to draw closer to God.

The closer you draw to God, the less the enemy can stand it. The air will get too thin for him, he won’t be able to breathe, he won’t be able to stand your praise of God, and he will drop off his attack.

But don’t be fooled that he’s given up completely, he will rise to fight another day, so you have to be on your guard. Keep your spiritual armour on (Ephesians 6) and be watchful.

As you meditate on God’s goodness, his love, his mercy, his compassion, his almighty, unchanging power, the enemy will begin to seem small and insignificant in comparison.

Keep in mind this promise to claim and praise God with all your heart, soul and mind.

Psalm 121:1-2 KJV - I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

When the enemy attacks, use worship and praise and thanksgiving to put wind under your wings and lift you higher, out of reach.

Fly higher!