Resting in God is a State of Mind Part 3

How do you cope? When you call on God is He silent or have you heard His sweet voice? Do you have a private place to get alone with God, on purpose?

The Old Testament book of Leviticus explains peace offerings through sacrificing animals. The New Testament books explain (after salvation) how peace offerings are given through free will. A gratitude for blessings received through spontaneous devotion to God, lead us to infinite peace, and rest in God. Worship and praising God brings us to that place of peace and rest that words cannot describe.

Entering into a deeper relationship with God usually requires stages of growth we must attend. One of the most important things to understand is that as human beings we have all inherited a dual nature. After salvation, part of us is still rooted in sin and part of us is rooted in God. When we realize our dual nature continues to exist after salvation, we gain an awareness of how to cope (or battle) the duality of our nature through instructions written in God's love letters. We simply have to learn how to cope with our opposing nature through the progression God intended from eternity past, by reading Gods' Word, and praise and worship through prayer. It is through this process that God teaches us how to hear His voice.

Pondering: Coping is a curious word. We cope with work, home, family, church, serving God, and a multitude of frustrating circumstances in different ways. What brings us peace in dealing with life's perplexing curiosities? I love this quote by, Paul E. Little:

"One reason sin and suffering flourish results from sin's being treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake."

Those secret areas hidden under the scars on our soul are not secret from God. Is there sin in you life that you are rationalizing, allowing yourself to treat it like a cream puff, instead of a rattlesnake? Alone time with God in prayer brings us courage when we need to talk it out and release the chains that keep us prisoner. When we pray He is standing in the room right next to us. Wow, what a thought! Can you feel the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up thinking about God standing next to you?

Coaching Concept: Dealing with our spiritual life takes a mindful, conscious decision. It means taking a chance that God knows what He is doing in our life; believing He is our coach and He is in control no matter the circumstances. It means learning to function within the bounds of God's design. He loves you more than you can imagine and He wants to give you the desires of your heart. We are in control of our life as long as God is at the helm, yet it is one of the hardest concepts to comprehend. He knew all about us before we were born. Control is His plan.

Challenge: Last week I challenged you to look at areas in your life that you have not completely surrendered to God. Did you do that? This week I challenge you to reexamine that secret place in your soul again, but this time look deeper inside at those areas that you have not turned over to God. Only you know the contents of your secret place. Pray about those difficult areas that keep you from hearing God's voice. Ask Him to release you from these destructive behaviors. He will hear you and then, as you release these strongholds, you will hear back from Him. By no means is this easy. We like our secret place and our secret sins. If you are ready to move into a deeper place with the Lord, it will be necessary to sacrifice your soul scars and release the past. Help your soul to heal; fall into the arms of God. Create a secret place where you and God are alone. Just talk to Him as if He is there with you, because He is.

Next week: We are going to talk about letting go. Until next week keep praying

Comments

[Jillian Macdonald]

Wow, I really need to work on having a special place to hear God and allow Him to be in control instead of me trying to control my life.