Why do people say, “When all else fails, try God?” I was listening to the radio and I heard a song that said something to the effect of, “When everything you have tried has failed, try God.” I mean, if you do not know God, I can understand this logic. For someone who doesn’t know God, complete and utter failure may drive her to her knees in repentance and confession. However, for a Christian (and this was a gospel song), God should be the first option, not the last resort.
I understand that I might sound preachy, but I promise that I am writing this to remind myself. There have been many times in my life that I have been faced with a situation and I tried to handle it myself. This sometimes resulted in victories that helped me to believe that I can make it on my own, which is a dangerous mindset for a child of God. Other times, I have tried to handle situations on my own and it resulted in utter failure, which led me to cry out to God to help me fix the mess I made. I am not saying that we should not attempt to do things that we are capable of accomplishing. I am just reminding myself and you that rather than forgetting about God until we need Him, we need to factor Him in to every part of our lives. God wants us to depend on Him and turn to Him before there is some catastrophe that we cannot overcome alone. And, when someone comes to us with a problem, rather than feeling defeated and thinking, “The only thing I can do is pray,” we should victoriously claim, “The best thing I can do for you is to pray” (not my original thought, I think it was Oswald Chambers). So, rather than saying, “When all else fails, try God,” we should say, “God never fails, I will choose His way.” Ms. EV
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People sometimes think I am a grumpy person. I try not to be, but I know that I can have a very challenging personality. This is in part because I am an introvert and many times I am thinking about the issues in my life, having discourse with God or myself in my head, working through situations constantly. So, as the internal reflection takes place, the external result is that it looks like I am sad, annoyed, worried, or just plain mad. (I have never been able to hide what I am thinking; my face gives me away every time). During that time, I need to work through whatever it is that is going on in my head before I can interact with people fully. Therefore, if someone interrupts my process, they might see behaviors that would incline them to label me as aloof, arrogant, or antisocial. At least, those are the ones people have said to my face.
I am giving this explanation because lately there has been a shift in my focus. Rather than focusing on what I do not have or have not done, I am trying my best, with God’s help, to pursue my dreams. Not the ones that I thought I would do to get everyone’s attention, affection, and acclamation, but the ones that God gave me for His glory. Focusing on writing and singing for the glory of the Lord is taking up so much of my reflective process that I do not have time to focus on the instability of my career or the fact that I do not have the family I envisioned I would have at this point in my life. And, people are noticing a shift in my personality. It is somewhat embarrassing when people are scared because you are smiling. But, like the old song says, “Something on the inside is working on the outside; I feel a change in my life.” Am I perpetually joyful now as I pursue my dreams? Joyful, probably; happy-go-lucky and walking on rainbows, not so much. But, I am learning what the psalmist in Psalm 37 meant when he wrote, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I thought it meant pray, go to church and pay your tithes and you will get what you want. It means become so wrapped up in God that His desires for your life become yours. I still do not have a clue what God wants me to do as a writer and a singer, but, with each open door (and closed door), I am excited about the possibilities. God places dreams in our hearts; we can ignore them and pursue what we think we want or we can live the life He has planned for us. I promise when you do the former, you will always feel like something is missing. You may even project what you feel is missing on to other areas of your life: relationships, career, finances, etc. However, when you keep the dream alive, when you know in your spirit that you are living in God’s Will for your life, the concern, the worry, the emptiness dissipates and contentment sets in and you can ride the waves and go with the flow. Ms. EV In many of my songs, I find myself writing about the times when I have strayed away from God. Though my reasons for falling off track have varied—overconfidence, independence, rebellion, anger—one thing remains constant; God does not let me stay there in the wilderness. In the New Testament, several parables explain that God sent Jesus to seek and save the lost. There is one about the one lost sheep out of one hundred, the woman and one lost coin out of ten coins, and the lost son all in Luke 15. The theme of the message is that God notices when one of His children goes missing, He will do what is necessary for the situation, to get that child back. I am a living witness of the intensity of this kind of love.
Sometimes, God will fervently seek after us in the wilderness until we are found like with the lost sheep. Other times, God has waits for us to clean up our lives and seek Him out like the woman with the lost coin. Still, there are times, when God has to let us hit rock bottom, and be broken, so that He can mend us when we come back to Him in desperation like the prodigal son. No matter what method He uses in finding us; He will not lose His children. This kind of love is not just found in the New Testament. In Isaiah 43, God says, “Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're Mine. …I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” (Isaiah 43:1, 4 MSG). That is a deep declaration of love. Once you are His, He will not let you go. You might snatch away from His hand like a rambunctious toddler does to her mother in a department store. But, just like that mother, who searches through racks of clothing and has the whole store on high alert until she recovers her mischievous offspring, God will be there looking for you, waiting for you, reaching out His hand when you come back to Him. And, just like that mom, He will hold your hand, just a little tighter once you are found. Ms. EV One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 3:20, "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." (The Message)I consider myself a pretty big dreamer. I set very high goals, some of which I achieve and others I don't achieve, but have fun trying. So, when God says that He will do more that I can dream, it just entices me. Oh, but when He gives me a little glimpse of what that means it excites me! Have you ever gotten a SURPRISE from God? You think that He has worked out an issue in one way, and then, He adds on to the blessing in a way you never expected. And, He doesn't just make us robots that ALWAYS do the right thing, but He works within us urging us by His Spirit to move in the right direction.That is what Ephesians 3:20 is all about. When you live an obedient life, God will make ways that you never even thought about. So, why do I try to figure Him out? I guess that is the lesson. God is saying, "I've got this all under control. You can just rest in me. You don't have to know how I'm going to do it. Just know that I'm going to do it." Watch Him work things out and He will BLOW YOUR MIND!
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