What are your struggles? On Sunday, our teacher at church gave a wonderful illustration that stuck with me and made perfect sense. He talked about when he watched several sailboats heading toward a very small passage. He didn't think the boats would make it through and had visions of them crashing into the sides. However, because the sailboats positioned themselves perfectly, the wind was able to push them through with minimal effort. He compared this to our lives. When we face the obstacles in life, we must position ourselves, and then let go and trust God, like the wind to push us to the other side.
As you read this, I want you to stop and ask yourself a question. What is upsetting you today? What areas of your life are causing you to stress? These are your struggles. Why do you think they are there? For me personally, I look at my heart and identify what is causing me concern & hurt. Once I identify my area of hurt, I ask myself, "how did I get here?". Did something I do bring on this struggle? Was I out of position? What I mean by out of position, is out of God's word, making choices He would frown upon, & in general lacking obedience to everything (and I mean everything) He has called me to be and to do. Disobedience is key to shifting out of position. I even took this illustration to the next step and had visions of me moving out of position; and the sides of my sailboat going under the water, hitting a rock, maybe even throwing a couple of passengers overboard (just kidding). Can you get the visual? As I make bad choices and am not in the position God wants me to be, things begin to happen and then I struggle.
Today, our boats may be under water. We need to shift our focus on God and get the boat back into position - praying it won't crash into a rock. We must seek Jesus. We must become hungry for His guidance, His wisdom, His word and have an uncontrollable desire to place our boat in perfect position to stop the struggles. Perfect positioning means spending time with Jesus praying, studying His holy word, striving to serve Him & taking every opportunity to worship Him. We also must recognize most of our struggles are our own doing. James 4:10 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." Strive to be holy. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." John 14:15 reads, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” “Whoever has My commandments and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me” (v. 21). “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching” (v. 23). The answer to the obedience problem is love. If you love Him, you will obey Him. “You are My friends if you do what I command” (v. 14).
C.S. Lewis said, "“God whispers to us in our pleasures (as we sail through life with ease), speaks to us in our conscience (as our boat dips into the uncertain waters), but shouts in our pains (when we hit the rocks): It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”. Stay in position with a loving God. Happy sailing.
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