Do You Struggle? This should be a great week for most folks, but I am getting a sense that many of us are struggling, even with a short week.  This morning in my devotions, I read this Scripture and thought that it might encourage and grow some of us!  I hope you find it as motivating as I did.  “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7

Two Things To Consider! Look at what God has given us and look at what He has not given us.

What God Has Not Given Us! Let’s first take a look at what He has not given us:  He has not given us a “spirit of timidity”  The Bible teaches that we were created in God’s image.  God did not create us to be weak, afraid or powerless.  God created us to be powerful, loving and disciplined!  God did not give you weakness, He gave you strength.  Whatever you have to face today – God has given you the power to overcome it!  Live in and thrive through that power!

What God Has Given Us! God has given us power, love and discipline.  You were created in the image of God.  Who or what can you think of that is more powerful than God?  We have the power of God flowing to and through our lives.  Don’t take His power for granted and don’t dare waste it!  God has given us love.  He loved us before we could ever love Him.  God is love and His love should flow to and through our lives.  Open your life to God’s love and share and show that love everywhere you go.  God has given us discipline.  Discipline is what allows us to grow and develop all that God has given us.  Don’t run away from discipline, run into it and you will discover a strength that you only dreamed existed!

You Are Special! You are special and God proves just how special you are with what He has and has not given you.  Live in the power of that reality today and enjoy the victory that God has provided!

A Very Good Word! This morning in my devotion time – these two verses really impacted me!  11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:10-11

Get Away From That Stuff! Verse 11 begins by telling us to “flee from these things, you man of God!”  We have to make a choice in this life – Who or what are we going to pursue?  When it says to flee from these things, it is talking about the wasted arguments for dominance, pursuit of riches and personal satisfaction that is talked about in the earlier verses.  We can pursue self or God.  Pursue self and you will lose yourself!  Pursue God and you will find yourself and so much more!

How To Pursue God! If you want to pursue God, then you must chase after the stuff of God!  We have been given a list to get us started!  (righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.) Impressive list!  Think about how your life would change if these were the things that you put your energy into pursuing!

It’s Not Easy! We can’t pursue God without a fight and our fight is not with Him, but with the world and often times ourselves!  We need to “take hold of our eternal life” and appreciate it for all of the amazing gift that it is!

We Can Do This! Nobody ever said that the Christian life would be easy, but it can be full of blessing – if we will take the time to live in surrender to Jesus.

Stressed! I talk with a lot of people who seem to really be stressed.  People have stress and struggle coming from just about every angle.  I am not sure that there is a sure-fire way to avoid stress, but I do know that we can avoid staying stressed.  Just because you are stressed, it does not mean that you have to camp out there.  In fact, one of the best ways to get unstressed is to take a break from your stress.

A Break From Stress! To take a break from your stress, you have to figure out where the stress is coming from.  What is causing stress in your life?  Now that you know what it is or where it is coming from – just step away from it and take a break.  It may be five minutes or it could be a few days.  The time is not really the issue.  What you do during this break is what really matters!

Game Plan! Two things need to happen during your break!  You need to talk and you need to listen!  Talk to God and tell Him what is going on.  He already knows, but it will make you feel better to get it out.  Next – Listen!  Really listen for God’s voice and direction!  You will know that you are hearing Him, when you feel your stress disappearing and being replaced with peace.

Give it a try – go ahead and take a break!