Keep Your Eyes On Me
"As your circumstances consume more and more of your attention, you are losing sight of Me. I am fully aware of your situation, and I will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear. Your gravest danger is worrying about tomorrow, and you will stagger under the load and eventually fall flat. You must discipline yourself to live within the boundaries of today--it is the perfect moment where I walk close to you, helping you carry your burdens." -Jesus Calling
As I have just finished another year in school, I finally have the time to relax and reflect on the past two semesters. I have been debating posting this for some time now, and every time I read the above excerpt from Jesus Calling, I am reminded how important these words are for many of us to here.
I've realized how easy it is for us to get caught up in the anxieties of times, and how much easier it is for us to exaggerate our struggles and inabilities. There are so many pressures that come with being a college student, or in general, just a member in todays society. It's difficult to keep up, stay grounded, and in my experience, not to allow your thoughts or attention to waver. Anxiety has come to play a huge factor in my life. When I take a step back, only one thing has changed, my reliance and dependence on God. The devil strives for anxiety to become a pattern. Once you get stressed about one thing, you drive yourself towards being stressed about another...and another, and another, and another-all resulting in feelings of loneliness and failure, accompanied by confusion, manipulation and dissatisfaction. I hope I'm not alone when I say I think I've allowed these feelings to overpower my attention and time towards Jesus, convincing myself that I am "too busy", "too long gone", or "too stressed". Are we not told that Jesus WANTS to carry our burdens? Has He not promised us that He wants us no matter the mistakes we've made, and has He failed to communicate to us that there is nothing more powerful than His love? Of course not. What has failed is the trust and faith we have towards His ability to do exactly what He says he will. In times of stress and anxiety, we tend to run away from the solution, relying on our own capabilities, eventually driving us down an even more difficult road. I ask myself this question all the time: why is it so easy for us to ignore the idea of someone else taking all the weight off of our shoulders onto theirs?
I'm pretty good about saying my prayers every night, but what I finally realized is how self-seeking my prayers have become. While it may start out as, "God, I want more of you..." it leads to, "...so that I can be this, have more of this...". While the things I pray for myself and for others aren't bad things to desire, it is all stemmed from the wrong intentions, and ultimately aimed towards selfish reasons. Whether I realized it or not, the things I was praying for, and more importantly the way I prayed, was so that I would feel the glory. As hard as it is to admit that, it's important for me to acknowledge because since I've changed the way I pray, my life has changed as well. All things are for HIS glory. Ask Him not for characteristics that will make you better, but for characteristics that will so accurately and beautifully portray the nature, personality and love of Jesus Christ.
Another thing I noticed was how MUCH I was asking of God. Complaining about things that were wrong in my life, how much better it would be if I was like this or if I had this. It is so sad how we can so easily manipulate and convince ourselves that we are misfortunate. I feel like I started to confuse and look at the things in my life I should be thankful for as anxieties. School, money, work, relationships, responsibilities, etc., all first world problems that I allowed myself to see as actual problems. For many of us, these things are not problems, they are obstacles. It's hard for many of us to be fully appreciative of the little things we have because a lot of us have always lived quite comfortably. I know that even the most fortunate go through some of the worst of times, and I am not at all trying to excuse that. But what I am trying to do is hopefully minimize or eliminate some of the things we see as problems in our lives, and instead see them for the blessings they are that many do not have. Do not give more power to the problem, and most importantly, do not deny the solution.
People who have been taught the knowledge and love of Jesus, and still feel as if they're unworthy, still feel like they can't make it through life on their own, and still doubt that the plan He has for us exceeds any expectation or dream we could have for ourselves, those are the misfortunate ones. If you were sitting at a table full of the best tasting foods in the world, you wouldn't bend down and eat the dirt off the floor. So don't turn around and run the other way when Jesus is standing directly infront of you, offering you the best life possible.
I can't promise you a life rid of anxiety and stress, I can't promise you won't make mistakes, fail, disappoint people, feel weak or feel down on yourself. But, what I can promise you, is in those times of anxiety and stress, God will love you. After the mistakes, God will love you. Through the failure, disappointment, weakness, and self-doubt, God will love you. Though you may still go through pain, the difference is that God gives you the strength and the will to go on. As you enter into a relationship with Him, your troubles will grow less and less. This life is meant to be lived and loved! And 1 John 4:8 says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love".
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 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." James 1:2-4
As I have just finished another year in school, I finally have the time to relax and reflect on the past two semesters. I have been debating posting this for some time now, and every time I read the above excerpt from Jesus Calling, I am reminded how important these words are for many of us to here.
I've realized how easy it is for us to get caught up in the anxieties of times, and how much easier it is for us to exaggerate our struggles and inabilities. There are so many pressures that come with being a college student, or in general, just a member in todays society. It's difficult to keep up, stay grounded, and in my experience, not to allow your thoughts or attention to waver. Anxiety has come to play a huge factor in my life. When I take a step back, only one thing has changed, my reliance and dependence on God. The devil strives for anxiety to become a pattern. Once you get stressed about one thing, you drive yourself towards being stressed about another...and another, and another, and another-all resulting in feelings of loneliness and failure, accompanied by confusion, manipulation and dissatisfaction. I hope I'm not alone when I say I think I've allowed these feelings to overpower my attention and time towards Jesus, convincing myself that I am "too busy", "too long gone", or "too stressed". Are we not told that Jesus WANTS to carry our burdens? Has He not promised us that He wants us no matter the mistakes we've made, and has He failed to communicate to us that there is nothing more powerful than His love? Of course not. What has failed is the trust and faith we have towards His ability to do exactly what He says he will. In times of stress and anxiety, we tend to run away from the solution, relying on our own capabilities, eventually driving us down an even more difficult road. I ask myself this question all the time: why is it so easy for us to ignore the idea of someone else taking all the weight off of our shoulders onto theirs?
I'm pretty good about saying my prayers every night, but what I finally realized is how self-seeking my prayers have become. While it may start out as, "God, I want more of you..." it leads to, "...so that I can be this, have more of this...". While the things I pray for myself and for others aren't bad things to desire, it is all stemmed from the wrong intentions, and ultimately aimed towards selfish reasons. Whether I realized it or not, the things I was praying for, and more importantly the way I prayed, was so that I would feel the glory. As hard as it is to admit that, it's important for me to acknowledge because since I've changed the way I pray, my life has changed as well. All things are for HIS glory. Ask Him not for characteristics that will make you better, but for characteristics that will so accurately and beautifully portray the nature, personality and love of Jesus Christ.
Another thing I noticed was how MUCH I was asking of God. Complaining about things that were wrong in my life, how much better it would be if I was like this or if I had this. It is so sad how we can so easily manipulate and convince ourselves that we are misfortunate. I feel like I started to confuse and look at the things in my life I should be thankful for as anxieties. School, money, work, relationships, responsibilities, etc., all first world problems that I allowed myself to see as actual problems. For many of us, these things are not problems, they are obstacles. It's hard for many of us to be fully appreciative of the little things we have because a lot of us have always lived quite comfortably. I know that even the most fortunate go through some of the worst of times, and I am not at all trying to excuse that. But what I am trying to do is hopefully minimize or eliminate some of the things we see as problems in our lives, and instead see them for the blessings they are that many do not have. Do not give more power to the problem, and most importantly, do not deny the solution.
People who have been taught the knowledge and love of Jesus, and still feel as if they're unworthy, still feel like they can't make it through life on their own, and still doubt that the plan He has for us exceeds any expectation or dream we could have for ourselves, those are the misfortunate ones. If you were sitting at a table full of the best tasting foods in the world, you wouldn't bend down and eat the dirt off the floor. So don't turn around and run the other way when Jesus is standing directly infront of you, offering you the best life possible.
I can't promise you a life rid of anxiety and stress, I can't promise you won't make mistakes, fail, disappoint people, feel weak or feel down on yourself. But, what I can promise you, is in those times of anxiety and stress, God will love you. After the mistakes, God will love you. Through the failure, disappointment, weakness, and self-doubt, God will love you. Though you may still go through pain, the difference is that God gives you the strength and the will to go on. As you enter into a relationship with Him, your troubles will grow less and less. This life is meant to be lived and loved! And 1 John 4:8 says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love".
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 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." James 1:2-4
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