Day 53: It's That Simple

We as young people like to complicate things. We make life a lot harder than it has to be. We live in a world that tells us, if something is easy, or if something is handed to us it’s not worth having. I beg to to differ, God handed us a life of redemption, and freedom, and we did nothing to receive it. Yet we are still worthy of the gift in His eyes. We live in a world where if it’s not complicated it’s not real. So we end up taking all types of unnecessary turns to get to or reach something that is right in front of us. God is handing us the answer to our prayer, He is handing us a life free of complications and full of love, and instead of just reaching and grabbing it we create an obstacle course to get to it; so that we can have a story to tell. We are trying to build our testimony. The thing is, a testimony isn’t always about struggle it is testifying to what God has done for us and our lives.

Matthew 11:30

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Psalms 55:22

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

1 John 3:23

And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us.

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome.

When we are living for Christ life is a lot easier, than what when we were in the world. Everything becomes tameable, and feels more like freedom; things seem simple, and if I'm being honest they are. We don’t worry about anything because we know that God has it taken care of. This is not to say that every moment of our life will be a breeze but with Christ it is a lot easier. God sends us through tests we go through hard times, we have moments when we are unhappy. But that is just a section of our entire life, our feelings, our bad days, our frustrations do not dictate our entire life. When you think about it, life isn’t as hard as we think or as we make it. Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy, His burden is light. We do not have to bear the troubles, or the stress that come with this life. We cast all our cares, all of our anxieties, frustration, stress, disappointments, pain, and worries we cast it on Him because He can handle it. Or at least we’re supposed to. But instead of doing that we chose to harbor it, we choose to bear it, we choose sometimes to make our own lives hard. God is right there waiting to take all of our troubles, why are we still holding on to them? We know we can't do anything with it or about it yet we still hold on as if we alone can change something. A lot of times we give the excuse, “it’s easier said than done.” and that works for some things, but sometimes we just have to trust God and let go. We have to give God a simple yes. We make our own lives hard by choosing not to trust Him. We complicate things when we start to get in our heads and thinking too much. We must get out of our own minds and give Him a chance. We as people of faith know well that God can handle anything, and that with Him even the impossible becomes possible, it is not our job to fix ourselves, that is why we have Christ. We can try to make a testimony by taking on life on our own, but at the end of the day, who is really being glorified?

Matthew 22: 36-40

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Everything falls back to love. It’s that simple, if there is one thing we know how to do, it is love.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that being a Christian is too hard, there are too many rules. Uhmmm, no! Jesus did away with the rules when He came and died for our sins, He fulfilled the law and told us to love. We are to love Him and love our neighbors. Jesus then goes on to say that if we love Him we will keep His commands (John 14:15). When we love someone we want to honor them, we want to make them happy. If we truly love God, keeping His commands, and following His word isn’t that hard. Honestly, it takes a lot more to sin, we have to go out of our way to do wrong. No one is born a bad person, we are made in the image of God, we are made by love, we were created in the image of perfection. We are wired with love, evil and hate is not fabricated within us, but love is. Love has been ingrained in us from the moment we were created by God. Love has been given to us, from the moment we breathed our first breath on earth, and the moment our heart pulsed for the first time. Love is not complicated, hate is. Forgiveness is not complicated, holding a grudge is. Living a righteous life is not complicated, going against the word of God is.

Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was and his answer was love. How hard is that? God says give me your burdens, cast it all on me. He wants it so that we do have to bear it ourselves, why do we keep it? We tend to allow all the clutter in our lives complicate things. We clutter our lives with stress, worry, frustrations, unforgiveness, insecurities, self-pity, pride, holding on too tight, being self-centered, etc. If we keep all of that in our lives things can get a bit complicated, but the great thing about it all is that it doesn’t have to be. God can take it, in fact He wants it. God is not some complex, and complicated being. He doesn't not limit or burden us with rules and commands, He is not burdensome at all. He is accessible to us, He reaches out to us, and He wants to take care of His children, why don’t we let Him? All we have to do is follow Him, trust Him, and love. It’s so simple it seems complex.

Reflection

1. Why do you think we tend to make life and being a Christian more complicated than it has to be?
2. Why do you think serving God is hard or simple?

Prayer Time

Talk to God about the simplicity of following HIm. Allow HIm to take away the clutter in your life that makes living seem complicated. Talk to God about trust and what it means to simply live with Christ.

Have an awesome day, afternoon, or evening! I love you!!!!! Share this with a friend. Make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 54!

Day 39: You Are Not Alone

1 Peter 5:8-9

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Today is going to be short, sweet, and to the point. As I mentioned yesterday, we will face a lot of hard times in our lives, some will feel like the end of the world. One of the results of these hard times is feeling alone, feeling like no one else understands because they aren’t going through it. We sometimes get down and start to throw ourselves pity parties because we feel like we’re the only ones in the world who is facing this certain battle. We feel like no one else can relate to us, they don’t get it. They can’t tell us what to do because they’re not in our shoes. Maybe they aren’t now but they have been.

We as young people don’t like to show our faces when there less than perfect. What I mean by that is, when we are going through a rough time, we hide it, or we isolate ourselves. We either feel like we have to face it alone or we would rather face it on our own. We even try to hide from God, as if He doesn’t already know what’s going on.  

I can honestly say that I am guilty of this. I catch myself saying, even now, “I would rather go through it alone because I don’t want to bring anyone down with my mess.” I’ve been at a point in my life where all I did was feel sorry for myself because I felt no one understood what I was going through. I felt alone, and isolated myself because in my small little world of me, I was the only one who had troubles.

-Dyamond

As the body of Christ we do not have to suffer alone. One of the greatest comforts is knowing that no matter where we are, or what we’re going through God is always there. Even when we feel like we cannot turn to anyone, or no one will listen, God is always listening.

Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. (Psalms 27:10)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 47:10)

Ephesians 6:18

In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

We are to pray for one another lift each other up. That’s what the body of Christ does. We rejoice together and we suffer together, (1 Cor. 12:24-26) you are not alone. Know that there is someone praying for you. Always.

There are two main points that I want to communicate to you today:

1. You’re not the only one going through what you’re going through. I know it feels that way but people have been where you are. People are in the same place you are. many people have walked the path you are on, find comfort in the fact that it doesn’t last forever.
2. You are not alone (I can’t stress this enough). This is why community is so important. When we go through hard times we tend to isolate ourselves, but you don’t have to do it alone. We cannot pick up your cross and carry it for you, but we can pick it up and  help (Matt. 27:32). We can pray, we can give you a shoulder, and we can just be there (Job 2:13). The body of Christ must stick together. You are not alone. Remember that.
   
   

Reflection

Today just write a response, take the time to write down what you’re feeling, you might be feeling alone, and you might be in the family, but know that your brothers and sisters are rooting for you, we’re praying for you, and God is right there with you. We love you.

Prayer Time

Reveal to God whatever is on your heart today. Talk to Him about it, find comfort in His arms and rest in His peace. Know that you are love, and no matter where you are God is never far away, He’s is always as close as you allow Him to be.

Maybe you’re not feeling alone or going through a hard time right now, pray for your brothers and sisters who are, lift them up. If you know them personally pray with them, let them know that you are always there.

I love you, have and AMAZING day. Tell someone you love them today and mean it. Make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 40!