Our God is Greater

"Our God is Greater" is a song that I think I can say most Christians are aware of. I said it in that way because I often forget that the things I am most familiar with are not always the same things others are most familiar with. For instance, the song, "How He Loves" means a great deal to me. Often I think it means a great deal to everyone, but not everyone has the same experiences I do. The song means so much to me because my youth group's drama team performed an amazing human video to it that saved and changed my life. Anyways, the song, "Our God is Greater" is well known. The song says, "Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. Our God is higher than any other. Our God is healer. Awesome in power, Our God. Our God." I used to sing this with my arms outstretched just praising God, not knowing what this song would soon mean to me. Now the song brings me to tears for it has taken a whole new meaning.

Right now I am not very stable. My life has kind of gone into turmoil, not visibly but internally. I am suffering from things that I cannot even understand or wrap my mind around. This in return has made it very difficult to talk to anyone about it, even more difficult than before. Whenever anyone tries to get me to talk I shut down or try to change the subject even if all they asked was how I was doing. I am fighting an internal battle, and that in itself is making it worse. So I want to encourage those of you out there who are like me to talk to someone! I mean this with complete sincerity! I may not know how to save myself, but for some reason I still can and still know how to save others. That is what is keeping me going. I may no longer know how to pray for myself, but I still know how to pray for others. So I must still have faith. I must still have a reason to be here. I cannot leave and leave behind everyone here who needs my help. There is a God listening. What hurts the most is I know He's calling for me. He wants me to pray for myself, but for some reason I cannot. I can speak the words, but my heart is not within them. But when I pray for others my heart is there. I still believe in others. I still believe in God's ability to move and do amazing things, but in other people's lives. It is not that I do not see Him moving in my own, for I do. I see Him doing many things. I do not understand why, but He does. He is responding to my prayers even if I am not. I just cannot get my heart to go along with my words. So please let me save you! Hear me out! Speak to someone! Do not be like me! For even I know that I am wrong.

I keep dwindling further and further down until I fear that I will not be here. To some of you this may be confusing. Good. I do not want you to understand the exact meaning of that statement, but just understand it generally. The only thing keeping me going now is God. This does not exclude people. In fact I rely on people. God shows up through people. So think twice before you exclude the one who is dwindling. You mean more to them now than ever before. If you desert them it may appear to them that God has deserted them. And believing God has deserted you, even though He never will, can spell trouble, trouble noone could even fathom. All that keeps me going now is fear of Hell and knowledge of God's plans. I know God has plans to prosper me. I know there is light. I know I will conquer this, WITH GOD, if I can just hold on.

So this song has a whole new meaning to me. I am no longer solely praising God, but believing and praying whole-heartedly. My God is GREATER than any evil or circumstance. My God is STRONGER than my will and my thoughts. My God is HIGHER than any other, and will always prevail! My God is HEALER, and He will heal me inside and out! He is awesome in POWER! With Him, and with Him alone, will I make it through. I may have lost myself a little, but if I stop fighting to come back, if I give up completely on God, I am done. In all senses of the word, I am gone. OUR GOD IS GREATER! I believe it! If I did not, I would not be here.



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Skating By

Do you ever find yourself trying to see how far God will take you? Now I do not mean in the sense of, "Let me see how long God will actually be there for me?" or "I want to see how far God will raise me up." Because God will always be there for you, and God will never stop raising you up. What I mean is do you ever coast by in life praying prayers for Him to mend your mistakes, or make up for your laziness? "God I know that I did not study, but I really need to pass this class so that I can go on and do great things for you. Please forgive me and bless this test so that I get a good grade." "God I know I need a job right now, but I cannot find time. I want to spend my time honoring you with sharing your word with people on the streets, and reading my bible. I have no time for a job. So could you please help me out and find me a way to get money for food tonight?" Prayers like those. I have no doubt in my mind that God will help you. He has helped me in times like this. God will never let you down. That is a promise I can make, and keep forever. You have my word. However, I wonder how many times we let Him down? How many times do we find ourselves not studying becuase we know that when we pray to God to "bless the test" He will answer? How many times do we not go out and look for a job, because we know that when we ask God to do so He will provide? How many times do we coast on by, letting God have our back, when we do not do anything but let Him down? He will always be there for you, but why be so undeserving? We will never truly deserve God's love. That is a fact. But that should NEVER stop us from trying. So, God will help you in school, does this mean you should not study? No. Just because God is helping you does not mean He approves. Think about it. Think about everytime anyone has ever let you down. Anytime you had a project at school and the one kid who did not put in any effort, but still recieves the "A" the rest of the group deserved. Think about the kid next to you in class who cheats off your work. He still gets the same grade you do, but without all the work. Think about every time you have been let down. Now think about how many times you are doing that to God. Think about how many times you bring Him to tears because you will not put in the work.

Mark Batterson writes, "And isn't it just a little ironic that the Israelites were complaining about one miracle while asking for another one? Their capacity for complaing was simply astounding, and we scoff at the Israelites for grumbling about a meal of manna that was miraculously delievered to their doorsteps every day, but don't we do the same thing?" - Mark Batterson (Circle Maker)

How do you expect God to trust you with those big things if you do not even put the work in to conquer the little things? How can you expect God to give you the amazing miracles you want and demand when you will not stop taking the little miracles for granted?

If someone cheated off of you in class and skated by off of your work you would be upset. You would see that, though they got the same grades, it was because of you, and they were ungrateful. They just relied on you. They knew that you would always be there, and they could always cheat off of you. Then one day they came up to you with a proposition. Their family just discovered some incredible debt, and they may have to sell their house. Their mom is a single mom, works three jobs, and they have three other siblings. You know that he needs help. You can see that. Your family is rather wealthy, and can afford to lend a helping hand. He asks you to do so. He promises that if you allow him ,he will work hard for you, lawn work, house work, any work you need in order to earn money. How are you to trust that he will work hard? How are you to trust that he will come through for you? He cannot even do simple work in his classroom, how is he going to have the determination to move mountains for you? I cannot imagine how God thinks, but if I had some insight I would say this is how He looks at me. I feel like He has some major things in store for me. However, if I slack off, if I coast by in life, and do not start getting my act together how is He to trust that I will have my act together when he needs to count on me? How is He to not think that I will not just coast on by thinking that He will take care of it. Yes, God can take care of it. As my pastor simply put it, "God does not need us." However, as he also explained, God may not need us, but He chose to use us. So, therefore in the huge world-changing ways that God plans to use us, He cannot count on someone who wants to just coast on by thinking, "Oh well, God will take care of it for me."

It does not surprise me that some people think this way. Afterall, God is our father. How many times have you come to a predicament where you thought, "Whatever, my parents can take care of it." You get in a small accident in your car, and create a minor dent. "Whatever, my parents can fix it." You get asked to go to the movies. "Sure, I'll just get money from my parents"And so on. This is how some of us treat our father in heaven as well. However, our father in heaven told us one very important thing, "Honor thy mother and father." If you ask me, treating your parents as a back up plan is not honoring them at all. So why do we do it? Most importantly why do we do it to God? That is not honoring Him at all. Yet, we expect Him to pull through. And yet, He still does pull thorugh. Even if we do not deserve it. That is the power of the Lord. However, just because that is the power in the Lord, does not mean we should take advantage.

Stop taking advantage of God. Show Him that you are meant for the calling He has planned for you. Start putting forth the effort. Stop praying for Him to make up for your laziness, and start acting so that there is nothing for Him to make up for. Start striving to deserve His love.


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Reasons Why You Should Not Let Laziness be an Excuse

Lately, I have been finding myself turning a lot of things down. I do not wnat to read that book. I do not really want to read their blog. I do not want to study. I do not want to put in the extra effort. I do not want to make myself a blanket. And so on. So I stopped and asked myself, "Why?"

I came up with a lot of excuses, but found my main excuse. That book is too long. That blog goes on forever. I do not want to do work that is not necessary. Making a blanket takes forever. Basically, I am letting my laziness get to me. It is blinding me from seeing things. That book is great, and may have some great insight for life. That blog is full of answers, and I would not want someone to pass my blog entries up simply because of its length. That blanket will supply me with warmth, and when I am done I will feel accomplished. I promise you that if you do not let laziness interfere, you will gain so much!

Just the other day I was walking to a friend's house with another friend of mine. He found what appeared to be a shortcut, but we could not be sure. He asked me to follow, but I said no. I just wanted to go the sure way, and not waste time. But he refused to give in, so I gave in. Come to find out it was a shortcut. Not only that, but a great shortcut. It was an amazing testimonty to God's beauty within nature. We even saw ducklings swimming behind their mother in a river. I know, "So what? It is just ducklings." You have to learn to appreciate the "small" things in life, otherwise how are you to be able to appreciate the "big" things in life when they come? How can God trust you with the big if you do not even want the small?

Proverbs 12:24

"The diligent find freedom in their work, the lazy are oppressed by work." (MSG)

Proverbs 13:4

"Indolence wants it all and gets nothing; the energetic have something to show for their lives."  (MSG)

Indolence- The quality or state of being slothful.

Proverbs 20:4

"A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring has nothing to harvest in the fall." (MSG)





Like what you read? Check out my other blog "There's a Tide in the Affairs of  Men *College*" !