Keep Going for God is Going Before You

When our oldest daughter was little she talked early and said very grown up things. It was really cute. Danny and I were talking to each other one day and she was off playing with toys in her room. She might have been 2, but barely. She came running in the room and announced, “You guys make me nerzis!”  Where she had heard about being nerzis (nervous) I still don’t know, but that was her announcement. We laughed and hugged her up and that was that.

Stress is very much a part of life. It comes out as nervousness, worry, anxiety, panic, and being jumpy. I heard a pastor preach one time that we need to quit figuring out how to de-stress our lives and learn how to deal with the stress. People deal with it in lots of ways. Long vacations, medication, hobbies, and trying to run away from problems. They even go in search of themselves, thinking if they find purpose in self then stress will leave. But the pressures and strains of life are just a part of the human existence. Outward circumstances are bound to give us problems, at least occasionally, so what do we do when we’re face to face with troubles, trials and we need a release?

God spoke to my heart last night before I went to bed: You have a destiny to fulfill.  You have a God who will see that it is done. You have an enemy who wants to kill your destiny. Now do you still wonder why there’s a battle raging?

If life is going to contain stressful times then we must learn our God given responses to the feelings that come so that we can be triumphant over the enemy and go on to fulfill our destinies in Christ. While we don’t want to rejoice in suffering, the very act of rejoicing is one of our biggest weapons against worry, anxiety, fear, and panic.  Everything that God promises us in His Word is true. But His truth doesn’t mean we won’t have trials or stresses or battles. His Truth promises to see us through all these things in triumph over the enemy and in victory to live life as a child of the Most High God.

Oh beloved, God knows what you’re going through. He is with you and He is for you. His guardianship is guaranteed for you are His child and He is your Father. There’s no need to live in a state of constant panic for the God of the Universe is with you! If He can put the planets in orbit and cause the tides to ebb and flow, if He can adjust the seasons and give rain in due time, then can He not take care of you? You mean more to Him than many sparrows, yet His Word says that not one sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge. He knew your life and the purpose He had for that life before you were even completely formed in your mother’s womb. He knew your destiny from the foundation of the world and He loves you enough to make a way for you to complete that destiny in victory and strength. He knows that much has come against you and that you feel weak and powerless at times. He’s seen you try to escape the trials and keep yourself free of stress, but He also sees that it hasn’t worked for you.  He wants you to know this morning that He can give you the commitment and stamina to stay the course. He wants you to know it is in the hardest moments of life that His light can shine through you. He wants you to know that you need to learn to stand against the enemy and stand with the Lord to complete your call in life. And beloved, He wants you to know that you don’t have to go it alone – He is with you every step of the way. He knows about every rejection, every sorrow, every weakness, every time you ever quit because you were looking for a stress free place. And yet this morning He says to you, rise up and go. Head into that stress with the armor of God and watch as you become more than a conqueror and your strength will rise because you are going with God.

God will never leave you or forsake you, so that you don’t have to forsake your place of purpose in God’s plan for your life. Rejoice in the battle for you are destined to win. Rejoice in the Word for that is your armor. Rejoice in the King for His army is with you. He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that matters as you overcome it all to live in the light of His Word.

2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Psalm 112:7 He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

Isaiah 40:28-31  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,   the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Do You Have a Bridge to Cross?

A friend from my hometown posted a photo of an old local bridge. It reminded me that I have had my moments with bridges. There’s the old river bridge outside Murfreesboro that had no rails. I remember asking Danny to stop and let me walk over that one. The old grated bridge over the Mississippi River. We went over that one on the motorcycle.  There’s also a 7 Bridges Road back home that had old wooden bridges, 7 of them, to ride over. There are low water bridges, draw bridges and foot bridges.

Some bridges are long and rickety, nearly as old as Methuselah. Others are built tall so that ships can go under them. Whatever kind of bridge there is, it usually must be crossed to get where you need to go.

There are bridges that cannot be avoided. Then there are bridges that must not be avoided.

Danny has never been much to fear anything. He likes bridges. He likes high bridges. He likes to look over the sights while riding on high bridges. He especially loves riding the motorcycle on bridges! For the most part I’ve just looked straight ahead and held on tightly, hoping I live through it.  I’ve always been thankful to have my fearless husband take me places because then, even though I feared it, I was able to experience it.

There are lots of different bridges in life.  Some of them are low water bridges. They must be crossed even if the water seems it will overtake you.  It won’t.  There are the high suspension bridges. They make your ears pop and your heart pound, but they will get you over things that cannot be scaled otherwise. There are the rickety bridges, the kind that seem to move with every step. There’s no way to go but one step at a time. They’ll hold, but you don’t know it till you get over it.

God speaks. There are lots of bridges in life. There’s the bridge from fear to faith. It’s only a step and you’ll be carried over by the Lord Himself. But you and I must take that first step. There’s the bridge from sorrow to joy. It’s a high one, long and tall, appearing to disappear in the clouds of your life. Other bridges may include life to death, but for the believer this bridge is the best one for beyond it lies reward and worship and the presence of God forever. Other bridges must be crossed individually: remorse, guilt, anger, depression, rejection. Even the bridge to purpose and to fulfillment must be crossed.  Each of these bridges looks too rickety, too dangerous and just fearful, but must be crossed to the other side so they can be replaced with God’s best.

Every bridge gets you somewhere. It’s meant to be there so that you can go from the past to the future, the mundane to the exciting, and the good to the best.  Every bridge in life takes you over the things that tend to hold you back, trip you up and keep you at the shore.  

I have a bridge to cross and I would bet you do too. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, what it is made of or how long, high or wide it is – it’s time to cross. Someone may have chosen that bridge for you but ultimately God is the only One Who decides what bridges you and I must cross.  It’s time to trust Him. 

God knows you did not choose the bridge that you must cross but you do choose the Savior, who guides every single step of your life. No other person on earth has the power or the will to take you to the other side. And even when it’s meant for evil or hurt or is just plain wrong, you will get over it. And when you do, you will dance on the other shore for you will see God’s will continuing, growing, blessing and guiding all the days of your life!

Oh beloved, run to the Lord this morning and let Him take you by the hand. Not one single bridge has to be crossed by yourself – He is with you!  He is beckoning you! He is showing you that what appears to be rickety, hard, high and scary is just a walk to a better future, a calmer life, His perfect will!  Give that bridge you are about to cross to Him. He will make it stronger, more secure and safe as you walk together into the future of good things He has planned for you!

Trust Him today, for what looks like the end is just the beginning of the rest of your life and that life is secure for God loves you and He’s for you and that’s always going to make the way for you!

Deuteronomy 31:8  Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Psalm 78:72 He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.

Exodus 33:14 And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." (NAS)