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By Pastor Anthony L. Scott
Life for every person on earth is a challenging journey with or without God. Those who have a relationship with God believe that when life gets difficult they can trust God to be present and work on their behalf. The hard part of the process is we never know when, where, or how God is going to operate. It’s just not easy to see where God is when the road gets hard.
All of our problems can be categorized into three areas. Some are horizontal, meaning they involve relationships with others. Others are internal, meaning they are centered in our emotions and have to do with ourselves. The last category is spiritual, and these involve our relationship with God. We all want our relationships to be closer, we want to be in control of our lives, and we want to get rid of the gap that may exist between us and God. Holistic living arrives when we are whole relationally, emotionally, and spiritually.
God’s way of making a way for us is through grace. He provides what we cannot provide for ourselves. When you don’t know what to do, realize the ultimate answer to your pain is a person, God.
Let me share some simple steps to take while on this journey with God. The first thing is to Have Faith in God. Simply begin with God. Too many of us are trying to do life within our own limitations. When we ask God for help we have instantly transcended our own limitations. The next thing is Get Some Information. Wisdom makes the difference. When we possess wisdom for a given situation, we gain hope and even certainty for the resolution of what has us perplexed. The third action step is to Leave Your Baggage Behind. In a very real sense our past can become our present. If hurtful things have happened to your heart and you’ve not dealt with them, they will continue to produce what we call issues. Rescue your heart from the past by leaving some things with God.
The next phase is to Embrace Problems As Gifts. See your problems as windows into the face of God and stand at the window like Daniel until God shows you the light. He is the only one who can change our perspective. Finally, Take Life As It Comes. Waiting is difficult for one reason. It reveals that we are not the master of time. Time allows God’s healing ingredients to be applied to our given situation. Time brings out that childish part of all of us that demands to have things fixed right now. Anything meaningful that takes place in life comes with the requirement of time.
God is often making a way for us when we cannot see His hand at work. During those periods when it appears like nothing is happening on your behalf, it’s a gift of faith to be able to trust that God is at work in our relationships, on our emotions, and on our connection to Him. Trust God without attempting to rush His pace.
