“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 NIV.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7 NIV.
Why do we gather in calamity or huddle after terrible news? Why do you hear people talking of prayer or saying “God” only when disaster strikes or a loved one is sick or dying? Why do some people say –“I will pray for you…” only to forget it as fast as they say it? Why is it we reach out to friends and family only or most often when there is injury, sickness or death? Why do brothers only seek the other when they have a need?
I know God created us to be relational with other people. This is why we tend to think that if a person were deserted on an island he or she would literally go crazy for lack of relationships. We all saw the movie Cast Away with Tom Hanks. That character even went so far as to create another person in a volley ball so that he had someone to talk to or someone to listen to his troubles. We all want someone to be compassionate toward us, right? When our sons were little and they were hurt, maybe a simple scratch, they wanted mom to know they were hurt and they needed understanding and compassion. The band aid was just for show. It was always amazing how fast a boo boo quit hurting once one of our sons got on their moms lap and told her about their troubles.
Do you know that this is a mirror of the kind of relationship that God wants with us and we truly want with God? We were created to be social. We were created to need other people. We were created with the desire to share with others our good news and to desire support when we have bad news. Do you know that God has put in each of us these same needs and wants for a relationship with Him? God wants us to come to him with joy of good news and to come to him with the pains of bad news. We were not designed to carry torment, pain, or sin around with us day in and day out. Because God created us so that we can make our own choices and our own decisions we often and easily can make the wrong choices and wrong decisions. Often these bad choices can lead to mountains of pain and hurt in our lives and the lives of those in our relationships; you know- our brothers, sisters and friends- people who care about us. The beginning of sorrows was when Adam and Eve made the decision to eat from a tree that God said not to eat from. Here is the good news about relationships and God in particular.
God created a way to mend a broken relationship. God created a way for us to be reunited in a renewed relationship with Him through Christ Jesus. This is also reflected in our relationships with each other. This is why people can forgive others who have hurt them or understand others in pain. However, as you may have experienced or have seen in others, sometimes people have a hard time in mending relationships with each other. People can have a very real struggle in forgiving another. The simple reason is that we are not perfect and we are prone to sin or better to say we are under a constant attack by the one who wants us to sin and desires that we stay separated from God.
I will be the first to say that I can be a shoulder for others to lean on and I will also be the first to say that I am not perfect, I don’t have endless strength for support, and I can be selfish at times. However, we can all ask God to carry our loads, free us from our troubles, and deliver us from evil. God will never tire, He will never give up on us, and He is perfect to handle anything you can give Him. So, while a brother or sister can be someone you can lean on at times, they will not always be there.
The best thing to do is for you to first ask our perfect creator God and He will get to work on your pains, troubles, and problems. If you haven’t already ask Jesus into your life all you have to do is let God know you need Him, you need Jesus in your life, and that you are sorry for the sin in your life and you want to change and ask God to forgive you, save you, and carry you through. If you just stop what you’re doing and ask God to make you new again, He will do it. It would be God’s delight to do so. God is the only one who can take our old worn out lives and make them new again… Once you ask Jesus into your life you are “born again” as Jesus says. Your name is written in the book of life and you belong to God for eternity. Trust in God and get to know Him by reading his word, the Holy Bible. You will find that once you start reading the Bible, you will only want to read more and more.
So, while we should be and need to be relational with others, because of a sinful world we are not perfect, we sometimes fall short in our relationships. The good news is that God will never fall short with you, as He is perfect. Forgive the imperfect (all of us) people in your life and know that by doing so God will forgive you for your sins. Remember to bring all things before God and He will listen. You may not think He has answered your prayers or pleas for help, but He is at work on His perfect time schedule not what we think is perfect.
God Bless.
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