Allowing God to be God

Often we need to keep an open mind about what God will do.  God is often a God of many surprises.

We expect this or that and he does something else.  It isn't as if God is random, rather is it that he sees the whole picture and we look at the tiny threads of life.

We often fail to see our limits and lack of perception of the whole picture.  We feel we can make better judgments than God although we often have very limited information.

We need to humble ourselves and allow God to chip through our pride.  God has the answers and not us.

If we feel God is wrong the issue is at our end and not at God's.  We often simply need to step back and remind ourselves of who we are.  Our flaws, our limits, and our lack of knowledge.

And trust that God's goodness and wisdom is sufficient.

An Honest Perspective

Often it is easy when we look at biblical characters to find them unimpressive. We have the tendency to judge their failures rather harshly.

The reason is we often fail to understand the magnitude of our own issues. We frequently fail to find courage to do the right thing when the cost is relatively low and yet somehow judge those who slipped in moments of possible life or death.

It is our sinful nature to judge ourselves better than we are. The fall makes self judgement difficult.

We give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, but not others. When we come to the bible we must always remember when we see the failures of others that these are the tendencies within us.

And many of the biblical characters whose failures are described are people of greater faith and greater courage than we have. It is easy to fail to learn because we think of our self better than we ought.

God's grace is always sufficient.

Appearance

Often in life it is easy to be discouraged because others have their lives together. The reality is that we as people almost always present the best perspective of ourselves but know the realities of our life that others do not.

You see each person presents the best front for themselves and hides what is less pleasant. This is why often our initial impression of others can be quite off.

We are often discouraged because others have their lives together and we do not. You see since we often only see the best side of others we do not know the reality of things.

Life is difficult and comparison is not helpful. You see God has not placed the same challenges in each person's life. We all face unique things in life.

We should live ideally day by day resting in God's grace. Our faithfulness to God is all that matters. It does not matter how our works or life or faith compares to others. It is often not even possible for us to know.

The only question is what God would have us do today out of love for him. How will we live out the love of God in the world today.

Perspective (poem)

Often we worry.
Often we wonder might have been.
And miss the work of God.
Who lovingly watches over us.
And cares for us.
Even if we realize it or not.

Help with Stress: 3 Tips

One possible step to relieving stress is to truly think about the whole picture of the stressful situation. A person can be stressed about the thought of speaking in front of a group of people. This thought can consume their mind. But if they take a step back for a moment, they may see that however it goes, nothing much will change. For the brief moment in time during the presentation it could be difficult, but after it is over most people won't remember much of it or really don't require perfection of speakers.

Some people may think that stress is helpful in that it compels us to do necessary tasks. However, the reality is that often stress makes it harder to think and therefore the task might not be done as well, and not as much will be done because it's hard to take focus away from stress and put it on the next item on a to-do list.

It's the same with stress about life: Regaining perspective can help immensely. But it seems complicated, or how do you start? It can be scary, because part of it might be really seeing the reality of time and our place in it. Ecclesiastes says this over and over again. But there is the hopeful side. Unfortunately, you have to see the rough side before seeing the good news. It'll be quick though! I'll cover the rough side quickly, so no worries.

Step 1: Know that our lives, including what is stressing you out, are small pieces in God's great plan for the whole earth and time for his glory. It's humbling to think of this, but also can feel freeing when viewed alongside the following step that contains reminders of God's help in our lives.

Step 2: Remind yourself about these four facts about God:

1. God is powerful and not against using people who are weak or who aren't sure they will be able to accomplish a task given to them.
2. God can and does work all things, even difficult, draining ones, together for your good (Romans 8:28). He allowed what has happened to happen, and in the future we may see how something is used for good that we can't see now.
3. God is full of love for you. I've heard people say "God must hate me" when things aren't going well for them. But that's not the truth. If we are Christians, God loves us and wants the best for us ("best" doesn't always necessarily mean worldly goods).
4. God is beautiful beyond measure. "Gaze upon the beauty of the Lord" (Psalm 27:4, ESV). To be a part of his plan is amazing, even if it's a small part of his plan for the whole earth and time.

Step 3: Take time to evaluate four things that are physical that might very well affect you spiritually (it's hard to think about God's goodness and power when you're not feeling or thinking well due to lack of energy):

• Are you eating enough food/calories? When we're stressed, it's easy to forget or not want to eat, but it will help us if we do.
• Are you sleeping enough? Lack of sleep could make it hard to think and feel happy.
• If there's a lot of clutter around you, I've heard it helps to clear the clutter around you. It's probably not possible to get rid of all clutter, but it's worth a try to fix that in a place or two.
• Hobbies can clear your mind and help you realize and remember that life can be fun and we shouldn't always be so serious about things.

If some of your stress is due to worrying about what other people expect from you, my article on that might help you. You may also be stressed because of being too hard on yourself when you make mistakes, so it's stressful to imagine making another one. An article on that topic that Danny wrote might help you if that's the case.

I wish you all the best on your battle to be less stressed. God is willing to help and wants you to thrive and feel less stressed. We're still in this world and therefore will have to battle it at times. But keep up the good fight!

Honest Prayer

One striking feature of prayer in the bible is how honest people are with God. When God spoke to his prophets his prophets said some things that were in the eyes of modern Christians eyes strikingly disrespectful to God.

The men of the bible were often upset with God and argued with him. Were they in the right?

Often there is little commentary on the narrative, but I think they were right in this that they were having a real conversation with God.

Our modern theology often wants to prettify prayer. We should be respectful in the presence of God.

I suppose that is true in its own way but you see I am not sure how coming to God and hiding our feelings is respectful.

There is always a balance: we are coming by prayer to speak to God. But we are coming by prayer to bring our hearts to God.

It is not as if God does not know how we feel. I suppose I sometimes feel that a person might go to a Christian or secular counselor and unload their feelings but they cannot do so to God?

We can tell a counselor we are angry but we must be careful if we tell God this? It does not make sense to me. God is bigger and tougher and had more character than the counselor and he already knows how we feel.

So always prayer needs honesty. Sometimes I have found if I simply tell God how angry I am and also admit I am probably in some sense wrong but angry all the same.

It is helpful sometimes to simply express our feelings. It is as if the expression helps to bring about the resolution by placing perspective.

You see God already knows I am angry about this or that. I can come into his presence and with prayer and try to pretend I am not angry but that is very silly in its own way.

You see prayer is a conversation. It is somewhat one sided since we are doing all the talking to God.

Of course God is also talking as he speaks through his recorded words and through the Holy Spirit in our hearts and through the voices of our brothers and sisters in Christ.