Dependance

At church this morning I was reminded of some very important things that I often need to be reminded of on a regular basis. The topic was dependance. Who do we depend on? Do we try to do everything in our own strength depending on self or do we depend on God and draw strength from him? When I am doing things in my own strength, I am destined to fail. I get frustrated, angry, impatient and my sinful side is very apparent to all around me. I often fail to remember that God's grace is adequate for what comes to me everyday. There is no day, no circumstance, no happening that God did not allow to be a part of my day. When I start getting a "poor me" attitude or a "why me" attitude, it's my strength I am working in and my own selfishness. I was reminded that when we are not in ideal circumstances that the circumstances are not what need to change, it's who we are depending on. As christians, we can have peace and joy despite of our situations. God never promised that the christian walk would be easy. As a matter of fact, usually the christian life is very difficult. We can expect trial, tribulations and just plain difficult days. These are the very things that God uses to prune us. To grow us and to sanctify us.
Many christians today think that when you are a christian, you are supposed to be happy. Days are supposed to be fairy tale like. This is the farthest thing from the truth. There is no where in scripture that indicates such a thing. There is an internal peace and joy but it's not a fairy tale life.
One other thing that stuck with me today is our Sunday school teacher expressed his concern over why so many youth are being raised in the church, memorizing scripture, being taught in the ways of the Lord and then abandoning all of it, never to come back? Kids see hypocrites in a hurry. A parent needs to demonstrate their enjoyment of God in their life to their children. The children need to see their parents in the word, intercessory prayer on behalf of them and others. They need to see that God is not dry and dull but very active and alive! The Holy Spirit lives within us and he CHANGES LIVES! This is something to get excited about! There is no one who will have a greater impact on children than the child's parent. Church is wonderful but even if you have the most ideal church in the whole world, it will impact your children but not like the parents that they live with 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Parents have the strongest influence and leave the biggest impressions on their kids.
So, if your reading this, put on the whole armor of God. Read your Bible, pray for your kids and rely on God's strength to get you through even the toughest of situations. He promises that his grace is sufficient for us in all circumstances.