Popular culture emphasizes self-fulfillment and seeking your own happiness. But that is the opposite of Heaven's way. Jesus is clear: those who give primacy to their own desires, comfort and security will lose what they so mistakenly value.
The people who are willing to lay down their own desires, comfort and preferences for God's higher purposes are the ones who will find true fulfillment and happiness in His extravagant love.
I'm assuming you've already read Where Real Victory Lives Part 1. That's important. It lays the foundation for what's being covered here in Part 2.
Years ago, my wife and I saw a silly card that made us laugh.
An older couple was sharing their marriage secret with a newly married couple. The older gentleman said they'd decided early on that he would make the big decisions and she would make the small ones. It worked so well that in all these years they hadn't had a single big decision.
My wife and I definitely saw the humour in that. Today, it brings me to a big part of this overall message: the marriage relationship. Some folks will disagree with me, but this is how I see it reflected in the Bible.
I was thinking I'd pretty much finished with this topic, but i keep getting hit with the thought that I wasn't direct enough in Part 1 and Part 2. May Part 3 be blunt and clear. If the Lord wants to step on your toes, tell Him to go ahead and do it.
In fact, stop right now and pray. Ask the Lord to show you how any of this may apply to you.
Do you ever feel like you're wrestling with God?
It's possible to have faith in the payment He made for your sin-debt but still feel like it's not quite safe to fully trust Him. After all, His agenda is pretty radical.
If fully trusting God scares you, your heart might pull back from Him in a short-sighted attempt at what feels like self-protection.
This is where Trusting God rounds out your Faith in God. This is where I circle back around to the core of this message: "But do you trust Him?"
If things seem too hard and you feel like you've already given all you can give, yet He's asking for more...will you trust Him?
Almost everyone suffers loss and heartbreak at some point in their life, some far worse than others. Here's my personal insight into this issue.
