This blog based on The Message Version in the book of Matthew;
Feeling overwhelmed? I can bet this describes most all of us. Its easy to end up feeling this way these days. The days where 'busyness" can almost be referred to as the "new modern age disease."
All we encounter in our daily lives leaves us feeling weighed down and drained in more areas of our lives than we care to mention. We are left feeling overwhelmed.
Sometimes you might think it would be nice if there were an "App" or a "reset button" so that we can redo all we disliked. Or would it be? Maybe not! Just think about it for a bit. Perhaps if were able to change things this easily our lives would probably be pretty plain, drab, with no "uniqueness or character" and we certainly would not learn to rely on JESUS.
For instance...... imagine driving through a neighborhood, almost always were unaware of anything around us only looking in the direction of where we are headed. Were oblivious to what surrounds us. Suddenly, one day while driving through the neighborhood we take a slightly different route. A house that doesn't quite look like all the others comes up, it causes us to pause and look, to slow down,to look at all its beautiful details that make it standout.
I don't know about you, but, I want to be the person living in the house with character like that! The house that is inviting and looks like you could definitely be enjoy living there. It would be UN-like any other home you've lived in. I don't want to live in the "Cookie Cutter House" with no unique character and life to it.
The thing we most often do when we see a house along the path such as this one is we often wonder "how do they do that?" "How dose one create such beauty?" "Where do they find the time?" We begin to think of the work it must take to create and maintain this house with such beauty. Next,we instantly, give-up on the idea and continue on down the path we were on, headed to wherever we were going and forget the house with character, our dream home.
I don't know about you, but I gotta tell ya even though there have been times I put the idea aside and feel like giving up on the dream, the idea never really ever goes away. The thought of the work involved seems unreachable so we just give up and give up on the thought all together.
GOD SOOOO does NOT want us to be buried under all this feelings of defeat or unworthiness. Its kinda like the "symptom" of an overwhelmed spirit! He knows if we allow this all it will do is hinder our ability to build and develop our GOD-given pr-destined life He has molded especially and uniquely for each of us. A spirit meant to prosper, to full-fill HIS eternal plan for us!
Ok, remember when I said every time I saw a house such as what I described, a house that stands out from all the others, and I wondered how they accomplished it all? Well, we all know that it surely took lots of work, it took someones hands-on, time and energy! Guess what it payed off! They accomplished their mission to have a house un-like no other, a house with unique character! They passed the test of time and diligence and were rewarded with a brilliant home.
They used commitment and determination as part of what they needed to maintain the home by taking time to spend refining all the nooks and crannies and the landscape so that it would stand out in all its brilliance causing us to stop and look!
Feeling overwhelmed is NOT of GOD! Its a symptom from lack of nourishment to our soul. You know, the soul, the place where all our emotions live! When we don't nourish the soul with HIS WORD, we begin to feel overwhelmed. That feeling festers within us and this is when the spiritual battle begins.
But no wait! there IS good news! YOU are a child of GOD! So there IS hope! He gave you a prescription to heal a wounded soul.
Join me in the book of MATTHEW (message version) and read for yourself in Jesus WORD that you may prevent this wound from infecting and killing the Spirit in your soul. Etch these words of Matthews message in your heart how Jesus overcame this very thing.
Matthew 4;4 ~ Keep a steady stream of GODS word in your daily life.
Move on to...
Matthew 4;7 Don't allow temptation and negative thoughts to keep you from developing character,instead, resist doubting or testing Gods faithfulness to you.
next read...
Matthew 4:10 Be committed to serve GOD with ABSOLUTE single-heartedness for HIM and HIS plan for you.
Living daily the WORD you will experience the rewards Jesus did! Check out what happens in Matthew 4;16. It is awesome! Jesus after fasting, was able to overcome and resist temptation to not succumb to those unhealthy emotions in the soul. The unhealthy emotions Satan feeds on when they are unprotected and undernourished with the WORD. Jesus used HIS fathers WORD to fight of this potential disease causing infectious being from invading his soul. In Matthew 4 it also says JESUS entered the land of Zebulun and Naphtali HE shined with GODS character from filling Himself with the WORD AND it immediately lit up all the darkness that loomed there! WOW! What power!
Well guess what? Its gets even better! Go on ahead and read Matthew 4;17...... JESUS does arrive in the Kingdom of Heaven! His home! We can to, and we don't have to wait to get to Heaven to do so. These WORDS of GOD STILL apply today in the here and now.
He says when we chose to change our lives, by feeding our soul and nourishing with HIS WORD your spiritual-house will strengthen with strong GOD-like character. Inevitably this will spill over into your earthly walk of life and into your temporary home here on earth. It will shine with the most brilliant character UN-like no other!
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