Jesus said to a scholar: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17
Is his primary concern physical health? No, but, as he says, to call out to people caught in guilt.
What He did on the cross is centered on restoring relationship and delivering from guilt.
Don't feel like reading? Watch the video here!
Health for sick relationships
So when Jesus says that he came for the sick, his advice and commandments are also helpful for the sick to heal their hearts. And they also apply to those who consider themselves healthy. When he says, "You are my disciples if you keep my commandments," it applies to everyone.
Luke 6:46 But why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not what I say? 47 Anyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them - I will show you what he is like...)
A doctor works like this:
1. He prescribes a drug that is supposed to lead to healing
With Jesus, this is his wonderful Holy Spirit, which always achieves its goal when I “take” it
2. Then he gives advice on how to take and how to live to get healthy.
These are the teachings of Jesus. Jesus said very clearly: if you implement what I teach, then I am really your doctor and your teacher. Otherwise you're just pretending I'm your doctor.
3. Thirdly, he refers to any specialists who can provide support.
With Jesus this is his community, the other Christians who are with you on the way. Some have grown more and will help you, others you can help. But what they all need to have in common is this: they want to grow, they want to change and they want to give Jesus more space in their lives and actions.
Annoying Christians?
If it bothers you that Christians "want to change you," then you don't understand what the point is: They want to change themselves as well.
(However, there is the broken form of Christians. They are really only concerned with changing others and they completely close themselves off from God. You can recognize them by their fruits and sort them out of the category "Christian".-> see quote from Jesus above Lk.6:46)
So look at it this way: If you have behaviors that actually destroy others or yourself, it's worth changing. And that is really the task of every Christian: Jesus commandmentsto take seriously and focus on it.
And then comes the most important step, without which everything will just fail: His Holy Spiritto take seriously, who works the miracle in me that I can actually be changed.
Interested in a 3-part course where you can grow in truly trusting God more and more? Watch my three videos on this topic alone or with friends, a home group or similar.
Compare these Scriptures where Jesus' last words were written on the cross: Mt 27:46 - Mk 15:34 - John 19:30
You can also read the various accounts of Jesus' crucifixion in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Do you find the parallels to what David wrote here hundreds of years before Jesus' death and what actually happened to Jesus?
A Psalm of David.
2 My God, my God, why did you leave me? I scream, but no rescue is in sight, I call, but any help is far away! 3 My God! I call during the day, but you don't answer, I call at night and don't get any rest. 4 You are holy, you dwell where your people Israel sing praises to you. 5 Our fathers put their trust in you. They trusted you and you saved them. 6 They cried out to you for help and were delivered; they trusted in you and were not disappointed.
7 But I am no longer a man, only a worm, I have become a mockery of the people, all the people despise me. 8 Everyone who sees me mocks me, twisting their lips and shaking their heads. 9 "Give your case to the LORD," they say. 'Yes, may God save him! Let him help him - apparently he takes a liking to him!'
10 But you, Lord, drew me out of my mother's womb. You made me trust her breast 11 From the beginning of my life I have depended entirely on you, from the womb you are already my God. 12 Don't stay away from me now! The need is so threateningly close and there is nobody to help me!
13 thieves have surrounded me like a herd of bulls; they have surrounded me like mighty buffaloes from Bashan. 14 They open their mouths against me like hungry and roaring lions. 15 I feel like I've been poured out like water all my limbs are dislocated. My heart is like liquid wax that melts deep inside me.
16 I am without strength, dried up like a piece of pottery. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You laid me in the dust where the dead lie. 17 For men have surrounded me like dogs; a horde of violent criminals surround me. As a lion bites his prey, so they hold me tight and won't let go of my hands and feet. (or: pierced my hands and feet). 18 I could count my bones one by one; my enemies just stare at me mercilessly. 19 They divide my clothes among themselves and cast lots to see who shall have my outer garment.
20 But you, O LORD, do not stay far from me! You are my strength, quickly, come to my aid! 21 Snatch my soul from the deadly sword, save my life from the claws of these dogs! 22 Deliver me from the lion's mouth, save me from the horns of the buffalo! Yes, you heard me! 23 I will proclaim to my brothers how great you are; I will sing your praises in the midst of the congregation. 24 All ye that fear the LORD, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, give him glory! Treat him with humility and reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
25 For the LORD has not turned away from the need of the helpless, nor has he despised his sufferings. Yea, the LORD hath not hid his face from him, but listened to him when he called for help. 26 You, Lord, give me reason to praise you in the midst of the great congregation. I will fulfill my vow in the sight of those who serve the Lord with reverence. 27 The poor shall eat again and be filled. Those who seek the Lord should praise him. Live up your heart, live forever!
28 There will be understanding in every corner of the earth, and people will turn to the LORD. All nations will bow down to you, O LORD, and worship you. 29 For the kingdom belongs to the LORD; he rules over all nations. 30 The great of the earth will feast and worship the LORD. Also all who sink into the dust of death will fall down before him, all who have no more strength to live. 31 Generations to come will serve him. Those who are yet to be born will be told about the Lord. 32 One will proclaim future peoples his deeds of salvation.
Back to the course, where you can learn how to actually believe in God in a very practical way
They will say, 'The LORD has accomplished everything!« New Geneva translation
trust god? My last blog was about the question of whether God deserves your trust at all: How does he want to work in your life? Is God Really Good? This blog is about: How do you deal with negative thoughts? What can you change in your thinking to become free? And how do you learn to relax with God so that you really feel what you believe: that God's love drives away the panic, fear and heaviness in you.
expose lying thoughts
Have you discovered lies that keep you from trusting God? Remember, there are reasons to be suspicious. God is not disappointed that you do not trust him. He never had the wrong idea of who you are and what you think.
But he absolutely wants to rid you of the lying thoughts that keep you from trusting. With Adam and Eve the lie was: “God is greedy and greedy for power. Therefore he forbids us the fruits that bring knowledge.” They believed the lie, and that lie caused suspicion in their hearts. Distrust was just like the pus from a wound, the lie was the splinter.
Getting rid of pus and leaving the sprout in has never been a good idea. Wondering about the pus is stupid. Bitching about someone's pus is even more stupid.
The splinter has to come out, then the wound will heal.
The lie has to come out, then your heart can finally trust God more and more
Find these lies with God's help and make a trade with him.
3 C's: catch, cancel, change
The other day I was listening to a podcast by Holly Bray where she talked about the 3 C's. It was about dealing with negative thoughts. In English, these stood for Catch - Cancel - Change (catch - cancel - change).
That reminded me a lot of 2 Cor 10:3-5. At this point, Paul is dealing with people who have spread lies among Christians about him and their faith in Jesus. In his argument he writes about how he fights against the spread of these lies by the people:
“We may live in this world, but that doesn't mean that we fight as the world fights. 4 The weapons with which we fight our battle are not the weapons of this world. They are weapons from resounding powerwho serve, in service for God hostile forts to destroy. Bring with these weapons we arbitrary thought building to collapse 5 and (we) tear every obstacle, no matter how high, that stands in the way of true knowledge of God. All that selfish thinking we capture, that it may become obedient to Christ.”
His argument at this point was probably with other people. But I notice that this struggle, as he describes it, also takes place in my thinking almost daily:
In my head, too, little men sometimes run around and spread their thoughts about God and the world, about me and my mistakes, etc. Thoughts just come like that. And after the thought has been there for a while, it causes the corresponding feelings as well.
This can make everyday life very tiring. Because negative thoughts create negative feelings. But there are really helpful truths that can help you manage your thoughts and feelings better.
destructive lies = fear and despair vs. God's thoughts = peace and hope
The ideas can be divided into two groups:
There are thoughts that come from God's heart and correspond to his nature. We humans generally refer to these thoughts as positive thoughts.
This is how Christians and non-Christians perceive it: “You are loved and valuable, nice that you exist, don’t give up, you are great, I have forgiven you, a new beginning is possible today, look around: you see, how beautiful the world is?..."
And then there are thoughts that already feel like darkness and confusion: "What are you even on this earth for? Who's gonna miss you? You are an ugly person. you'll never make it Why keep fighting? That's no use anyway. Nothing will ever change – except for the worse.” These thoughts are squarely opposed to God's mind and heart, and are actively fighting the faith in your heart.
Trust God: He addresses difficult issues with love
Is there nothing then that God will ever criticize about you? Yes, it is really important that God corrects you and me and that I am also open to correction. Otherwise it's doom for you and me.
But when the Holy Spirit works change in you, He does it with His Peace and His Love working together. But first you have to believe that it's okay if you make mistakes.
Do you believe deep in your heart that it's terrible when you make a mistake? Then it also feels terrible to admit your mistakes in front of you, God and other people.
The first step to freedom is this: identify the bad thought in your heart.
As I said, you will not find bad fruit on a good tree and nothing good will grow on a bad tree.
God's power is at work in you and wants to help you to break through destructive thought fortresses, buildings and obstacles, to bring them down and tear them down.
Are you struggling with smug ("I'm so great!") or self-defeating ("Why am I not so great?!") thoughts? You can "catch" them through Jesus and subordinate them to Jesus: He is the highest and most worthy person - and still your servant. There's not much room for pride.
HOW TO TRUST AND HOW NOT TO
So now you've discovered thoughts that keep you from trusting. What can you do?
If you have found sentences in yourself that make trust difficult, you have found in these sentences at the same time what youbelieve. Because the thought in you that God z. B. asking you to be perfect is your true belief.
Your deepest thoughts are your true beliefs. If someone asks you what you believe in, share your deepest thoughts with them.
If you were extremely uncomfortable because they didn't agree at all with what your beliefs actually are, you can be happy: you've finally found the splinter!
Fake relax
Imagine sitting in a chair and saying, "This chair is amazing! There is no one better or more stable.” But in reality you think this chair is too rickety to support your weight for more than two minutes.
by Mike Bird from Pexels
Therefore, you will not put your weight on the chair, you will just pretend to be sitting. How cozy would that be? You can proclaim with faith all you want, “I'm so glad to have this chair in my life. Life would be so exhausting without this chair. I could never really rest.”
After two minutes at the most, people around you would probably notice your muscles starting to tremble. And after five minutes, even the last person would have noticed that you don't look relaxed at all and this chair of yours doesn't even remotely live up to its promises.
God wants to be your favorite chair
God is like this chair. And he really doesn't enjoy it if you are living a life where you just pretend to be leaning on him. He wants to carry you with all your burdens.
Do you know this verse: "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). Why is it that without faith you cannot please God? Precisely because God wants to be your chair on which you can throw your whole life weight.
If a chair had thoughts, it might not like it at all if a person never really sat down, but rather half-standing. That also looks silly. A chair is designed to carry you.
God has a purpose for you too themselves determined who he wants to be for you. He wants to be your shepherd, your water, your food, your strength, your father, your lover, your provider, your king, your boss, your prince of peace, your hope and your source of life.
What is left for you to do? Lean on him with all your life, burdens, failures and sin and accept who he is.
Trust in theory
You alone decide whether you trust theoretically or practically. You can trust God all your life like a person who never really sits down in the chair.
Let me tell you: this is going to be a terribly exhausting life. Maybe your faith is just as exhausting? Then have the courage: sit down, get to know God better. God invites you to trust because he will really carry you and is actually good.
By Allec Gomes from Pexels
Every thought that comes to your mind that suggests you don't trust is answered by you every time, very often with a "Yes, that's right". Your thoughts only change when you give these thoughts a different answer inwardly:
"I made a mistake! But I have to do everything right!” – “No, I live by his grace. He is so faithful and has forgiven my debt. He makes me new!”
“Even God can no longer change anything. It is too late.” – “No, what is impossible with man is possible with God.”
"My heart just cannot believe." - No, for no word that comes from God will be of no power" (Luke 1:37).
trust god
Where do you trust God only theoretically? Did you become aware of new things? Write things down and bring them to God. Ask him to help you and see the truth. He helps!
What are your inner sentences like? Continue your list and find the answer to your doubts in the Bible. And then decide to accept what God says as truth.
In the end it remains that: your decision. He gave you strength and his truth. Do you trust in its power and truth? Then pretend today that you believe it.
Nothing is more worthwhile than saying goodbye to a life in which you theoretically trust God - and finding your way to a life in which you can let your whole weight fall on God because you know for sure: He takes care of you ! (1 Peter 5:7).
Question to God: Show me where I only trust you theoretically... what have you become aware of?
Does God carry you? Fakeing trust and how it affects you
How is it actually to trust God? So many Christians walk through their lives with God, but rarely experience His peace or the power He has promised for those who walk with Him. How can this happen? And above all: What has to happen so that you and I can experience more of God and what he wants to give us?
Imagine sitting in a chair and saying, "This chair is amazing! There is no better or more stable chair in the world.” But in reality you think this chair is too fragile to support your weight for more than two minutes. This will result in you never putting your weight fully on the chair, just pretending to sit. How cozy would that be? It doesn't matter how much you proclaim with "faith": “I am so glad to have this chair in my life. Life would be so exhausting without this chair. I could never really rest.”
After two minutes at the most, people around you would probably notice your muscles starting to tremble. And after five minutes, even the last person would have noticed that you don't look relaxed at all and this chair of yours doesn't even remotely live up to its promises.
May God carry you?
God is like this chair. And he really doesn't enjoy it if you are living a life where you just pretend to be leaning on him. He wants to carry you with all your burdens.
Do you know this verse: "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). Why is it that without faith you cannot please God? Well, exactly because of this fact: God wants to be like a chair for you on which you can throw yourself along with your whole weight of life too. If a chair had thoughts, it might not like it at all if a person never really sat down, but stayed in a half-standing position. Besides it looks really silly. A chair is designed to carry you. Thats its purpose.
God also has definded a purpose for himself, who he wants to be for you. He wants to be your shepherd, your water, your food, your strength, your father, your lover, your provider, your king, your boss, your prince of peace, your hope and your source of life.
What is left for you to do? Lean on him with all your life, burdens, failures and sin and accept who he is.
Have you ever thought about whether you actually trust God? More often you may ask yourself whether you believe in God - or whether you believe enough. But when it comes to faith, it must also be about trust in God. Because you don't believe anyone you don't trust. And you don't trust anyone you don't believe a word of it.
I have found throughout my life that I have the ability to theoretically trust God: theoretically, I believe that God is with me. When asked if he wants to help me, I answer: "Yes, theoretically yes...".
Did Jesus pay for my sins and absolve me of all charges? "In theory, yes." The question then is why, practically speaking, do I still feel constantly accused and judged...
The problem, of course, is that theoretical trust in God practically means, "I don't trust you!"
Do you also theoretically trust God sometimes? Then I invite you to consider with me why this is so and what you can do about it. Worth it! Because if you never learn, God practically trusting, you are about to miss the most important thing in your life: experiencing God.
The Holy Spirit is imprisoned in unbelieving believers. And he wants to break out.
Bill Johnson
who god misscan't trust him vertrust
Mistrust is important. It keeps us from running blindly into great dangers. As soon as you see an inconsistency, the alarm bells go off. And that's good -
Except of course someone is using your inherently correct distrust disposition to dupe you.
And this game unfortunately presents itself to us humans in countless experiences in real life as well as in stories, fables and movies.
Human distrust lends itself perfectly to a double game. Because it is enough to simply "sow" a doubt. This thought gets stuck in your brain and quickly takes on a life of its own.
Distrust and as it always doubts
This game of evil (that's what I call it now) is often found in human history. The first time probably with Adam and Eve: "Did God really say that you should not eat of the tree? He's only saying that because he's keeping something from you.” The thought is sown.
The British writer Jane Austen, in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, paints the same story: the kind-hearted Mr Darcy is condemned by Elizabeth because the charming Mr Wickham has bad things to say about him. In the end it turns out that Wickham is the real bad guy who did the bad thing and Mr. Darcy is the real misjudged hero of the whole story.
The same principle applies to the Star Wars films: Darth Sidious lies to Anakin and sees in him the doubt that drives him insane: "The (good) force is not strong enough to protect you and your great love! Turn to the dark power and you will be able to protect your wife!” Anakin believes the voice of evil and loses exactly what he wanted to protect by doing so: he kills the love of his life in his growing, mistrusting anger.
Yes, distrust is often good. But distrust based on a lie is catastrophic.
It is no different in the relationship with God. Here the thoughts of distrust face and fight against the belief in you. The distrust would only be correct if God were actually a villain...
God the villain?
From the beginning, the goal of evil has been to turn you away from trusting in God. Who is this bad guy? Jesus calls him the one who lies as soon as he opens his mouth (John 8:44).
You don't believe that there is a dark and deeply evil force in this world? That evil is just a pipe dream – the Western world is pretty much alone with this idea.
I want to encourage you: look at the incredibly and abysmal evil deeds of people who devour their own children with unspeakably cruel and heinous deeds. In such lives, evil is within reach.
There is evil in this world that acts strategically and wisely at the same time. And it's trying hard to keep whispering this thought to you, "God is not good. Look here and look there what he has done again. It was him!” Then, as if in a trance, people often join in: “Yes, it was him! Why did God do that!"
Which voice can I believe?
The difficult thing about situations of mistrust is this: How can you recognize the truth? It's really not that easy. But there are also good clues that help with orientation like a compass.
Because what do you do in your relationship with God if you find it difficult to trust? Are you cautious about your trust with good reason or not? If you want to live with God, you certainly have a desire to trust God.
But I'm sure sometimes you're afraid to trust God too. I want to tell you: there are reasons for this and it is worth looking for them and examining them a little. Because the question arises: Shouldn't you also distrust these reasons for distrusting God?
Why trust God? Because he's good!
Wikipedia gives the following definition in English:
Trust is a person's willingness to be vulnerable to another person. And this on the assumption that the one who is trusted will behave in a way that benefits the truster. Furthermore, the Truster has no control over the actions of the Trustee.
That's really the only reason why trust makes sense. if god is good If he is up to evil or is evil, it makes sense to distrust him.
Because that is so, you must ask yourself the question: Is God good? Because: if he isn't, it would be foolish to trust him. If you have answered this question well with "Yes, he is good!" I want to ask you: do you think God is good to you? Is everything who he is and what he does good for you? Do you wish for everything He has prepared for you?
I've often noticed that Christians aren't as quick to shout yes and hooray when the topic goes in this direction. I quickly sense a reluctance to surrender myself fully to God's will, usually mixed with an underlying sense of duty.
Why is that? I think that's the most important question of all!
Trusting evil goes against your nature
When God says we should to him fully trust, one thing was very clear to him: for us humans it is impossibleto trust someone evil. It's not just trained. God made you this way! He has put an inner compass in you that you protect yourself from bad people and become suspicious.
If you have lost this protective mechanism, in most cases it has to do with the fact that you have been trained out of it. Maybe through the parents, who everyone says are supposed to be good. But your parents just really weren't or aren't.
Maybe other people have shaped you in an unhealthy way. It can then be difficult to use trust and distrust “correctly”. But there is good news: If you spend time with God, who made you wonderfully, He can put things right. You can put your view of things back in order - for example, realign this inner compass.
Only if God is good can he demand trust
If God made you this way, there are two possibilities:
Either God is a hypocrite, demanding something of you that He knows you cannot meet: full trust in Him, i.e. a completely open heart, even though he does things that hurt you and are bad for you.
Or else God really is perfectly good. And that also means good for you in all situations.
That's not to say that God won't judge and punish when people completely reject Him - and like to do evil as dogs like to eat their poop. God isn't doing anything wrong there. Because without correction there is no justice.
How God shows himself to us in Jesus
God shows himself clearly in Jesus. He carried a great burden to achieve one goal: He wanted to set you free. You were worth it to him when he died on the cross for your sin.
By geralt from Pixabay
The burden of your guilt and your hurts hit him really hard - not just your burden and guilt, but that of everyone who has ever lived and will live.
That's how he is, God the Father: He suffers for his children and helps them out of the biggest shithole. And that's how a father and mother should be: like him.
If you believe that God is just waiting for you to open your heart to face a difficult fate, you can never trust God. Trusting someone who abuses you or treats you badly is only possible by bending your heart. And that's very unhealthy. Then it may look like trust, but it definitely doesn't feel like trust.
God knows we can't trust him when we think he's about to hit us
The evolution of suffering
God does not want to make you a better person by sending you an incurable chronic disease or by letting your partner or parent die.
Many religious people believe in an "evolution of suffering", as if at the end of suffering there would be a new, better person.
But it is not the evolution of suffering that changes you - it is God's Holy Spirit!
The thing is, people can suffer an awful lot and end up being horrible or incredibly wonderful people.
In the same way, people can hardly suffer and end up being wonderful or incredibly terrible people.
However, what often happens through suffering is that we begin to question. This can be a very important process that in the end really causes a person to change course. Often because he realizes how destructive the paths he took without God were.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of light, in whom there is no change, neither of light and darkness" (James 1:17). "God is light, and in him is no darkness" (1 John 1:5).
What is the education that God expects of us?
But what does God ask of us to grow in our relationship with him? Above all, there are three things that God consciously expects of us, which everyone must experience on the one hand, but which are also an opportunity to grow on the other:
1. Trusting God despite suffering:
This life is full of beauty but also full of difficulties, problems and hardships. God doesn't spare us that. Everyone experiences difficulties, some more, others less. That in itself is unfair. All problems and difficulties have one temptation in common: that you doubt whether God is good. Adam and Eve are the first example of this doubt. This is your challenge and the question for you every day: Do you think God is more unjust than you? Or do you hold on to what you've already seen of him and say in the heavy, "No, God is still good. And I will see his goodness.” That's what decides it: do I belong to God or not? In difficult situations, do you immediately doubt that God is good?
Only in this life can we make that sacrifice to God: believing him to be good, even when it doesn't feel like it. That's what it means when Jesus tells us to become like children. Bill Johnson?
Believe God in Difficult Situations?
2. From Sin to Holiness
If you want to cling to sin, that's a bad goal. In that case, you really can't trust God to support you in this. Because another word for sin is "destructive action." And that's what God wants to set you free from. He is constantly inviting you to change your thinking and make room for His Holy Spirit. Then he can show you what reality is and that stinginess is not cool; that adultery is as destructive and insidious as assassination of people you love, and it really is Nothing has to do with “true love”; and that you are a slave when you live in sin. Do you want to see the truth about your sin and become free?
3. His vision becomes your vision
God has a goal that corresponds to his nature: He wants (desperate) people to meet him and become free. God invites you to really get to know him and have a heart like his. This entails certain risks. Because then what is important to him becomes important to you. He endured much suffering to save others. This heart then beats in you. When you really love someone, you care about how they see the world. Are you ready to empathize with God? Do you want to get to know him close enough to see what moves him? Acts 26:17f
Suffering is not the power to become a better person. God Himself is that power.
A person who opens his heart completely to God and trusts in him will become more and more beautiful every year through God himself. You know people where this is not the case? Then you may rightly question whether they really have their roots in Jesus. For Jesus' reasoning was this:
By Mălina Sîrbu from Pexels
"A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." Jesus, ca. 30 AD
But before you point fingers at Christians who you think are not good enough, look at yourself and ask yourself: do I let God into all areas of my life so that I become a person who works for myself and others is a blessing and not a curse?
God is not the author of destruction, chaos, murder and manslaughter. But of course what we cannot avoid in this life is the question of why he can allow it. There are many good answers to this question – but that would be another topic. And yet, you may not find an answer in this lifetime that fully satisfies you. But you are made for eternity! Did you know that? Until then, God wants to give you something incredible: His absolute closeness to you and his peace, which is better than any answer can ever be. Can't you believe that? That's because you have far, far too low an expectation of his closeness and peace!
Don't miss the opportunity today to finally meet him and get to know him a little better!
You don't trust God? Don't accuse yourself!
So don't blame yourself if you don't trust God, but ask yourself today:
Why don't I trust God? What am I afraid of?
What do I fear will happen if I invite God and say, "You can do whatever you want in my life."
God tells you to trust him as a child trusts his good father. He knows exactly that a child never trust I canwhen the father does things that are not good for the child. When the father beats up his child and then says it's for his own good, the child knows: that's not the truth. It closes itself – it cannot do otherwise. But God is calling you to trust because He is both perfectly good and devotedly loving for with you,.
You will never be able to fully trust God unless you first believe that he is good (to you).
Do you believe God when he says he's good? This is how your rebirth begins: that you know the truth above God believe. Not, that you on believe him Many believe on God. But the power to change lies in believing in them for who they really are.
We do not need great faith, but faith in a great one (and good ones) God. HudsonTaylor
Put down a piece of paper over the next few days or start a note on your cell phone asking: what are you afraid of? I would be very happy to hear from you too. And then realize that when you give your life to God and invite him into every living space, he wants to come as king and servant. He doesn't want to dominate your life. He wants to serve you, care for you and be a blessing to you. But that's impossible if he can't also be your boss. But who doesn't want a boss like Jesus!
In this way he prepares you to become a servant for other people yourself, where people find protection and strength - with your gifts, limitations and passions. Then you become a person who is even able to share in the suffering of others.
Do you want to decide today to invite God more every day and say to him:
"All I am is yours and I trust you will not harm me."
How your prayers can become sourceful instead of tiring
My grandparents were Christians with heart and soul and so faith was always an important part of family celebrations. And always in the evening, just when us kids were having the greatest time of our lives, our parents called us to end the evening with a family prayer time.
And boy, my grandfather prayed. With all his heart... and very long. And I know how I thought about it as a child: What an infinite waste of time! How incredibly well could we have spent those last 45 minutes! (maybe it was only 15 minutes? Time just doesn't pass fast enough when you're bored...) Well, as a child I underestimated what was and is a huge blessing in my life: the prayers of my grandparents and parents.
By sabinevanerp from Pixabay
But now I'm an adult and I know one thing: even as an adult I find some prayer meetings incredibly tiring. And I know that so many adults probably find prayer just as tiring. So tiring they got rid of it altogether.
But maybe in you too there is still a spark that thinks: it still would be good if I knew how to get in touch with God...
Prayer as an agonizing duty
By Giuliamar from Pixabay
The appeal of prayer seems to me comparable to that of brushing your teeth: it's a chore. You might find something else tedious - for me it's brushing my teeth (especially flossing). I love brushed teeth, get the point why to do it and absolutely hate it when my teeth aren't brushed. But I'm not enthusiastic about how to get there.
The situation got worse about 14 years ago. I no longer just had to brush my own 30 teeth. No, now there were up to four children, with more and more teeth every year!
Then at some point the dentist told us to floss our kids' teeth every day. I guess you notice: Not a fan.
What on earth was God thinking when it came to prayer? Is this really how it has to be? A painful duty? Or could it be that I misunderstand prayer and therefore experience it that way? What lies are there that are so effective in preventing me, and perhaps you, from actually meeting God Himself? As Johannes Hartl once said: The God who created a breathtaking, fascinating world in the most creative way cannot possibly be an absolute bore.
A god who longs for you?
One of the many things Jesus talked about was prayer. At one point he talked about it to a woman at a well. This woman probably didn't avoid the midday heat to fetch her water so that she could avoid meeting the other women.
The woman is from Samaria. Jesus is a Jew. He asks her to give him water. The Jews of that time were so set on not socializing with Samaritans that they didn't even want to travel through their country.
Her reaction to his request is almost shocked: "How is it possible that you, as a Jew, "get so low" as to ask me for water? Me, a Samaritan and a woman as well?” Because the status of women was a little different then than it is today in our culture.
Scene from The Chosen www.the-chosen.net
Jesus replies, “If you knew how low I got, you would ask me to give you to drink. And then I would give you water that has the power of life in it... This water from the well cannot permanently quench your thirst. You'll keep coming back here for more...
“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”” (John 4:14).
Prayer is like drinking from a fountain.
The whole thing sounds like something out of a Marvel movie. True. But try to hear what Jesus is saying: He creates an inner source in you that causes you to become alive: alive in a way different than just living. And this inner source also causes your grave to not be the end of you, but rather a door you walk through.
Sounds fictional? Well, maybe the Marvel Comics are inspired by thoughts from the Bible rather than the Bible being inspired by Marvel 😉.
Theres this saying that someones barking up the wrong tree. Like a dog, who thinks the delicious cat (?) is up in the tree, when really shes three trees to the left.
When it comes to prayer or contacting God, there are really a lot of these wrong trees to bark up. They look (partially) like the right tree, but the price is not up there. You then experience this disappointing prayer life spiritual journey.
Do any of the following thoughts sound familiar?
You really should:
… show God how serious you are!
... be a better person so that he hears you!
... get into certain meditational positions to open yourself up.
... break the bond of inherited sin and cleanse yourself, your house... . Darkness lies in your past - that prevents God from showing himself to you...
… meditate, pray certain mantras.
... improve the feng shui in your apartment.
… go to a Buddhist monastery to experience God.
...
What are your own thoughts on what you need to do to reach God? These are wrong trees to bark up.
by Tama66 pixabay
But there is also the right tree in the endless forest of trees that promise to lead to God. And he is fighting for you to find him!
"I must" becomes "God gives"
One of my daughters was extremely stubborn and temperamental as a young child. No one was as happy as she could be happy - and no one got mad the way she did. The urge to do everything by herself and get it right the first time was so extremely strong. At some point I could only shake my head and laugh at these regular fits of rage.
We caught a situation on vacation on video. As far as I remember we disturbed her groove because we were doing something for , that she actually wanted to do by herself. So she raged and jumped in a parking lot in England until she was completely exhausted. I wanted to help her out of the situation. But she wanted nothing but time to be turned back, so she could finished what she'd started.
She couldn't accept this:
"There are just things that you can't do on your own and you can't do them perfectly either. Just admit it: you need my help and that's not as bad as you think!"
Is God allowed to help you?
I believe that with God I am often like a raging child that wants to do everything on its own.
The hardest thing I ever had to learn from God is this: stop trying to achieve something with him out of my human strength. And this is still my tendency:
Trying to be good, persuading him to do everything right, praying that something will happen. Not doubting, having faith that moves mountains. Producing peace, hope and a positive attitude. And above all: REACHING HIM.
Pride versus humility - autonomy versus dependence
Is there a sacrifice God asks of you? Yes. You have to sacrifice your pride and stubbornness in wanting to do everything yourself. But also the burden of having to manage everything by yourself. And the false belief that you can actually do it.
Everyone has their own life story. You have your very own experiences and you may have discovered your own trees you barked up to reach God.
Most of the time, these trees have one thing in common: you as a human being have to clime that tree to reach God or get him to move down the tree. But he moves around and in you and meets with you because this room - not because you have finally managed to reach him through your willpower.
Can you accept that? This is your contribution. Trust is an important other word for faith.
Do you think you need him to save you? And do you think he's trying to meet you right now? That means trusting God.
By Ramon Clemente from Pexels
You cannot create encounters with God. But you can shut out God. Or you can be open for him. “Jesus, I want to meet you. But I don't know how to. Help me!"
Jesus answers! "Don't you notice that I'm standing in front of the door and knocking? If anyone hears my voice and opens the door for me, I will enter and we will eat together, I with him and he with me” (Rev 3:20).
You determine how your relationship with him goes
Prayer means communicating and spending time with God.
If I really want to spend time with my husband and understand him, there is only one way: conversation. We can do many other things. But they will never achieve what a conversation can.
As a married couple, we could just focus on "speaking" each other's love language in some way. But if we don't fight for honest - and sometimes exhausting - communication, then something crucial is missing. So, intentional time with God is so crucial for your relationship with Him.
And in a relationship with a human being or in your relationship with God, there have to be words. Us humans are unique among all living beings in this respect.
Only through God's words do you get to know him. And it is only through your words - whether out loud or in your mind - that you allow God to get to know you.
That's fascinating: God allows you to separate yourself from him. You decide whether you invite him into your life, although he could easily overpower you. And when you invite him into your life, you still decide which areas you let him into.
Imagine your life is a house with many rooms. With many people God is allowed in, but no further than into the hallway. How is it with you? Is he allowed to enter the room of your addictions? your anger at someone? your greed for money? Your sadness… You have infinite areas within you that you can “hide” from God. But he wants to meet you in the dirt of your life and is not afraid to get his feet dirty. By telling him that you want him in that room, you give him access. Don't leave Jesus standing in the hallway.
by Max Vakhtbovych
Your prayer: good or bad culture of conversing?
You may be wondering how exactly talking with God works? Just like talking to a human? Yes and no. Because conversations with a fellow human being can go completely wrong and be one-sided: for example, if your counterpart talks constantly and never listens. Or even worse: never truly sharing and still not really listen. That kills every relationship. Even if nobody notices it from the outside.
You can share hundreds of pieces of information every day about things you want your partner to do, or better yet, what he did wrong. Or what's going on with the kids. The latest gossip from the neighborhood. What needs to be done at home. But deep down you know, "My partner doesn't really know who I really am or what it really looks like inside of me."
Such communication also makes prayer tiring. Informing God about what he should change in the world.
A young Christian recently said to me: He wants to pray more, but at some point he just doesn't know what to say anymore. Yes, what is there left to say after you informed him of everything he should fix? Repeat it all again from the beginning? Maybe with a little more passion this time?
Giving God a to-do list is tiring. Because actually, what your heart really desperately hungers for is to experience him being there with you. Maybe you often don't realize that. But the hunger for beautiful experiences that make you feel alive is burried deep in your DNA! And I'm sure: you too are going through a lot of trouble to satisfy this hunger. And many of these things are lovely. But meeting him complements you. So, start meeting him so that you become whole inside.
Another point that makes prayer very tiring is the wrong assumption: I have to change in order to experience God.
This belief, or rather this lie, keeps you all your life from both, meeting God and experiencing inner transformation and liberation.
Your decision - his power
Communion with God is primarily possible because of one person: God Himself standing at your inner door, knocking politely, and waiting for you to let Him in. And then he comes in. Thats it.
That's why I want to ask you this question: Is Jesus allowed to enter into your heart and life? Is Jesus allowed to see the truth about you and address things? And can he love you?
By Gabby K from Pexels
God is passionately interested in you. He makes it possible for you to hear from him and experience his peace.
Your contribution is to open your heart and give it to him. He's already chosen you. The question is: do you choose him?
God loves it when you seek him. But most of all, he loves it when you find him.
I look forward to hearing if I can help you on this journey.
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