Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Awaken Part 2

Wake Up

Wake up to the fact that God is with you. The disciples didn't need Jesus to awake. The needed to awaken to the fact God was with them; therefore, there is nothing to fear. God did not give us the spirit of fear but the spirit of power and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When you know He is with you, there is nothing to fear. Psalm 23:4 says, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me."

There are things that will limit your success, your victory and your joy...and I want to tell you how to lay them aside and leave them behind so that you can run the race God has planned for you. Before you can leave those things behind, you need to stop and meditate on this truth--God has plans for your life. Jeremiah 29:11 says "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future." He wants you to know joy. He wants you to experience victory. He wants you to live in peace. He wants to fill your cup with blessings that overflow. That is what God has for you!

2 comments:

Brian Miller said...

ok, i am waiting for the coffee to kick in...

funny, jon over at stuffchristianslike.net posted on something very similar today. check it out.

mine happens to be on those irrational fears that keep us from experiencing true freedom.

great minds seem to think alike....

The Glovers said...

Here come the iron...

What do we tell people who deal with issues in their lives that eat away at their "joy, victory, blessing, and peace?"

What about folks who seem to endure constant hardship: sickness, persecution, and perpetual poverty?

There seem to be many Christians around this globe who do not experience lives filled with peace, prosperity, and victory - at least as those things are understood in the context of health, financial success, low stress, and lack of harm.

Is there something wrong with the faith of those who don't receive these blessings? Or is it a situation where the joy, the victory, and the peace described are best understood in context of seeing Christ as our greatest treasure regardless of how our temporal bodies and our short lives here are affected?

I know that some people believe that worldly success is God's plan for all believers, and the lack thereof is a reflection on the believers shortcomings - not on God.

Other people think that God is sovereign over all events and even those horrible things that happen to us are ultimately in his hand for the good of his own people (Genesis 50 and Romans 8) - so our hope is in Christ and eternal joy, not material prosperity.

Can you clarify your take on the Jeremiah text and your own comments. Thnks.