As a person living with a disability challenge is part of my life. I struggled with my identity and I recognize that I still have insecurities to face, but that doesn't mean I can't walk in everything God has purposed me to walk in despite my insecurities. Because of the nature of my condition and physical disability, God's grace is evident in my life everyday and I find strength in the word of God that says in Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him who gives me power". (CJB).
Anytime we look at ourselves we see inadequacies. This
is fear, when you look at your life and think “I don’t have what it takes.” I
don’t have what it takes to be a Kingdom Citizen, a leader, a parent. Have you
ever felt this way?
It’s important to understand that God doesn’t want us
to feel this way. A lot of people in Christianity confuse this with humility.
They think God wants us to feel this way. God wants us to feel worthless and we
are just here existing.
This is not true at all.
My prayer for you and myself is that our eyes and
hearts be opened to the power of God, that we see God’s power manifested in our
lives.
How great is God’s power?
He upholds the world by the word of His power (Hebrews
1:3).
God could deliver you today—He has the power—to deliver you from whatever situation is causing you irritation, frustration and pain. And since He can, you probably feel that He should. Why would God delay when He can deliver you today? How often do we beg God to give us something we want or to get us out of something that we don’t want? We plead for Him to change our circumstances. We implore Him to bring a change.
Sometimes, however, God says no, or wait or seemingly nothing at all…
Can I help you today? Stop begging God to change your circumstances and start praying for God to change you.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t be persistent in prayer. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pray more than once. But sometimes we need to understand that His grace is sufficient. Paul prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. Now, we don’t know what that thorn was, but it bothered Paul so much that He prayed three times for it to be removed. And God said my grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:8). We can sling snot, cry or do whatever we think may change God’s mind, but if He chooses not to remove your circumstance, He will give you the grace to go through it. God knows what’s best for us, better than we know what is best for us. We may think our plan is best, but if God doesn’t remove your circumstance, its because He has a better plan. Wow, that’s humbling! But who are we to tell the God who upholds the world by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3) otherwise?
Still, we beg and plead for a change in our circumstances….
Lord, why this financial hardship!”
Lord, “I can’t take no more of this!”.
This prevents me from being a witness and sharing the gospel. I’m being hindered from glorying your name, because I am in this circumstance.
Do we really think God doesn’t know what He’s doing? Do we really think we know better for our lives than God does?
Welcome to going through trials and tribulations
Not what you wanted to hear huh? What if we lived our lives in such a way that we see everything that happens in our lives through the lens of Romans 8:28?
Having to ride the bus because you don’t have a car? Perhaps God wants you to share the Gospel with someone on the bus.
Raising a rebellious child? Maybe there will be someone who crosses your path who God wants you to mentor and they need to see God’s peace through you in the midst of a heartbreaking situation.
Your circumstance may be to humble you or another or maybe to introduce you or another to a peace that surpasses all understanding. The circumstances you find yourself in will serve in the purpose and plan our great God has for your life.
Put it all in His Hands
Whatever it is, unwanted circumstance you face, big or small, remember to put it all in His Hands. No matter how difficult your circumstances, God’s grace is sufficient to see you through!
Never forget that breakthroughs seldom come without a battle. Don’t be in despair if your victory doesn’t happen as quickly as you think it should, nor be discouraged if you encounter a difficult battle before your breakthrough. I heard my Apostle say in his message this past Sunday, “things always get worse before they get better.” If you are like me and you are struggling to shake off the memories of past failures, remember what God said in His Word, “though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again (Proverbs 24:16). No matter how far or how often you may have fallen, you can get back up again….
Having a relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean you will be free of struggles and hardships. Life can be tough, and even as a Kingdom Citizen (Christian) we still face many challenges. Before we were saved, we were of no threat to the Devil but after we gave our life to Jesus, we became an enemy of Satan.
We live in two worlds—the natural and the spiritual world. When we find ourselves faced with battles, we must realize that there is much more going on than we see with our natural eyes. As a result, our fight on the battlefield must be fought with spiritual weapons.
God did not leave us defenseless or sent us into battle unequipped. He gave us a powerful weapon: His Word. But too often we fight in the flesh which manifest things like depression, addiction, sickness or relationship conflicts.
The Bible is referred to as the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). God’s Word is the final authority over the lies of the enemy. Something begins to happen in the spirit realm when we open up our mouths and speak God’s Word. God’s Word will dethrone principalities and release power for you to trample over all power of the enemy.
Remember, Child of God you are not in a fight for victory—victory is already yours. It’s a fixed fight all you have to do is stay in the ring and declare that you have the victory.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-4 says, though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.
Did you catch that? Your spiritual weapons are mighty in God to overcome strongholds of the Devil. Through the Truth of God’s Word, you have been given authority over the Devil. In exercising this authority, you let the enemy know he no longer has permission to run havoc in your life, he is trespassing.
