God is in Control, PART 3

The following is a list of ways to walk and abide in God during our trials:

1 - Fasting

2 - Cry Out in Prayer

3 - Confession

Confessing our sins is a highly overlooked activity in the Christian walk.  Often we are told to pray and love one another, but did you know that if we don’t confess our sins to God, He doesn’t hear us?  Did you know that husbands’ prayers are hindered if their relationship with their wives are riddled with unresolved issues? The most powerful cleanse we can do for our body, mind, and spirit is confessing our sins to God with a contrite and broken heart.

The instant we confess our sins, we are cleansed and forgiven immediately.  This is the power of the Blood of Jesus.  This is the power He overcame on the cross.  So confess away all your wrongdoings.  I often ask God to forgive my known and unknown sins as well as my presumptuous sins. These are wrongdoings that I presume to be right when in reality, I am sinning before God.  

4 - Wait on God

Waiting on God is probably one of the hardest things for man to do. This means we must wait, watch, and listen for God’s cues and confirmations before we take action in certain circumstances in our lives. The good news is that we don’t have to wait on God for peace or joy. He grants us these automatically as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We do however have to wait for healing, relief from a hardship, salvation for a loved one, wisdom, and for the mate God intended for us to marry. This is how we can screw up our lives by going ahead of God in many instances. Yet He can still turn our mistakes into righteousness and our mourning into dancing.

Psalm 27:14

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

5 - Trust and Obey

We trust God by reading and following His Word. We trust Him by obeying His Word and precepts, but nothing says trust and obedience better than utter submission to His will and acceptance to the uncertain outcome. Trusting Him during our trials and tribulations allows Him to work in us and through us. Our Lord Jesus Christ showed the ultimate trust and obedience when He submitted Himself to God in the Garden of Gethsemane right before He was arrested. “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

6 - Rejoice and Give Thanks

We are His children because He handpicked us and adopted us as His own, not because we're so special or that we responded to His Word or to someone’s preaching.  Nothing happens by accident or by our own choosing. As you’ve seen in the Apocalypse video, He orchestrates our lives and ordains our steps.  For this reason, we must rejoice that we are in His loving and sovereign hands. God not only loves a grateful heart, but also directs us on what to be grateful for.  In Luke chapter 10, 70 men returned in victory casting out demons in Jesus' name. " Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  Jesus has given us immeasurable power to trample on demons, but He wants our hearts to focus on the fact that we will spend eternity with Him!  Our power on this earth is temporal versus the immutable fact that heaven is our permanent home!  Rejoice in this fact and your temporal troubles on this earth will grow dim!

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

God knows the beginning and the end. He is not only the author and perfector of our faith, but also the finisher. He is relentless in carrying out the work that He started in us. Even though it appears that our world has unraveled, God is still carrying us. Even if we think He’s too busy or just wants to punish us, He is closely guarding the intricacies and details of our lives. The worst thing we could do now is abandon ship and/or rebel against Him. We would essentially be shooting ourselves in the foot. The consequences could be very harmful on top of that, painful and sorrowful.

As I write this at my desk next to an open window, I can hear a baby crying from a distant apartment unit. His cry is very distressing. He sounds very hurt as if he has been hurt badly. It’s so upsetting to me that I have to close my window so I can focus on my writing. Part of me wants to walk over there to see if the baby is okay. Unfortunately, this  isn’t the first time I heard the baby cry like that. Most of the time I can hear him cooing, but occasionally he weeps and wails in pain and agony. I just now called management and they will be investigating my report. This is the least I could do for a helpless baby crying in distress.

I can remember only one time when I heard Charlie crying like that. He was two years old when I accidentally buckled his stroller seat belt on his little tummy. He cried so hard. I felt so bad, that I started crying too. God hears our cries. He weeps for us too when we are in deep, excruciating pain. Unlike me, He doesn’t close His window to close off the noise. Nor does he call management to investigate. He takes pride in handling our personal cases Himself. He watches and waits for the right moment to deliver us. He holds us in the palm of His hands and never forgets the times we cried out to Him, like I hold the precious memories I have of Charlie.

Luke 19:40

He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

More than Conquerors

Our trials and tribulations are marks that we are His children, taking part in His sufferings. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:36)  We are heirs of His Kingdom and we will reign with Him forever. I know this is hard to fathom in light of what this dark world is projecting, but we have to persevere and hang on to His promises.  His Word is more eternal and real than our current circumstances. All these will pass. Don’t box God out of your trials. Instead cry out to Him and invite Him in to unravel the mess. When you hear His voice, submit to His leading and guidance. Our biggest trial could be God’s only chance to show Himself strong in the midst of our drama. He endures until the moment when He can wipe away every tear for the last time and give us our reward in Heaven. The tangled pile of unravelled thread that He hung on to will be spun into a magnificent tapestry for His Glory!

Revelation 21:4-5

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”