The owners of the gym I'm working at for the next week and a half recommended to me Worship On The Water, Flora-Bama. I was excited to try the church because they have talked about how great it was.
The forecast, concentration, for the service was faithfulness. More specifically how faithful God is when we go through storms, troubles. We have all been through hard times, are going through them, and will go through them in the future. But we must keep in mind that God will be with us through it. He will stand by us and even when we stray away from him in our troubles. The service concentrated on 3 verses: Jeremiah 5:22, Mark 4:37-39, and Colossians 1:15-17.
Jeremiah 5:22 is the verse that really stuck out to me and is what I will be concentrating on in this blog.
"I placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it."
- Jeremiah 5:22 (ESV)
- Jeremiah 5:22 (ESV)
We need the protection of God when things happen in our lives. We have good things happen, but when bad things happen in our lives not only does it seem as if only bad things happen but you stray from the one person who has stood beside you the entire time. I myself have been guilty of this and unfortunately all too often. We tend to forget about our most faithful friend. Why we rely on ourselves to get through our problems is behind me. I'm completely guilty of this as well. Not only do the troubling situations we go through break us, but we forget that we are already a broken person because the situation we are in broke us even more. You are already a broken person because you are a sinner.
How are we broken? God has laid out a set of guidelines for us as individuals and Christians to follow. How many times a day do we break one of his commands, and willingly or even thoughtlessly break them. We are rebellious, that is how you are broken. We are naturally inclined to sin; it is in our nature. Just as our parents, coaches, mentors, teachers give us boundaries as students, God has also given us boundaries and he has given us those boundaries for a reason. But as human beings we like to see how far we can push those boundaries, even if it's just something little (example) So how are we not broken? There is no answer to that question. Our nature is to test the boundaries we are given is what makes us broken. Those boundaries can be good boundaries; don't get me wrong. Our coach could tell us to run a certain pace, lift a specific weight, swim a certain distance and because we want to be a better athlete we do a little extra. It's okay, you can admit it.
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| God is your guiding light, just like a lighthouse is a guiding light for ships. They let ships know where their boundaries are so they don't go off course and run ashore. God is our lighthouse leading us where we need to be. |
But we need our God's protection because our troubles will come, it's just a matter of when they will come. Even those that seem to have it all or seem like they have everything together go through storms in their lives. They just might be a little better at keeping their composure. Your lack of sticking to the boundaries that God has given you is part of what causes they problems you are having. You may be going through financial issues, but this could be because you are irresponsible with your money. God tells us that when we are responsible with our money we gain this back and then some (Matthew 25: 14-30; The Parable of the Bags of Gold). Or we may be one of those people where we constantly get into a relationship that never seems to work out. God has given us standards and boundaries, besides The Ten Commandments, for the standards in the type of person we should be seeking to date. God has given you those boundaries and guidelines for a reason! They lead us down a path the keeps us close to him and gets us even closer to him in our relationship with him. Staying close to God and seeking him in your time of trouble is what helps those problems go away, or in reference to Jeremiah 5:22 makes the "water recede."
You have to cry out to God for help, even in your most trying times he can speak peace over you. He is the only one who can help you. Proverbs 3:5-6; "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Time heals all things and God can heal what is broken.
"And a great windstorm are, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
- Mark 4: 37-39 (ESV)
God should always be your Plan A when you hit your storms in life, but also expect the damage and brokenness that comes along with these raging waters. Someones we have to be broken down so far in order for God to get us to where he needs us to be. Our God is faithful and will never leave you in times of the storm, it's just a matter or you turning to him and not forgetting that he is there and you need to turn to him first.
So don't be discouraged if you are going through one of those storms now. I invite you to get down on your knees, bow your head, and silently pray to God about what you are going through, of him to help you through it, and even thanking him for what he has down for you in your life. Finally realize that you can NOT go through this without him. He will give you the strength and you will start to see those waves that crash upon the shore to recede and slip back into the big ocean one by one. Those waves will always be there, pushing the boundaries, but got has set boundaries for them to hold them back from you. We just have to follow the boudaries God has set for us!
-God Bless
"Training strength and endurance physically, mentally, and spiritually"
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