My friend, Debbie, and I were talking tonight about how we go through so many things "the hard way". Have you ever heard someone say, "OK, we can do this the easy way or the hard way....it's up to you."? Well, a lot of times that is exactly what God is telling us. If we serve Him, we can reap His blessings and go about life "the easy way". Granted, "the easy way" isn't always so easy, but it sure beats the alternative!! And so many of us choose the alternative: "the hard way".
We sometimes have situations in our lives where we know God is wanting us to do one thing, but we stubbornly choose to do another. Thus, taking the hard way. God is going to get you where He wants you in the end, regardless. So why do we make things so rough on ourselves?
I have two younger brothers that I love dearly. And back when I was out of church and had turned my back on God, if either of them had come to me and said they wanted to live like I was living I would have done everything in my power to try to get them to live better than that. So, in essence, the life that I was living wasn't good enough, in my opinion, for either of my brothers, but it was perfectly acceptable for me! I realize now how insane that sounds. But it just goes to show that deep down I knew that the life I was living wasn't right. I wasn't pleasing to God, and I wasn't even pleasing to myself.
I was 23 years old and I had just left my husband, whom I had been married to for 6 years. I wanted to live the life I had never known. So I started going to bars and drinking. I totally turned my back on the 9 years I had lived for God. I know I brought my family much embarrassment and pain. My mother even told me later that she came to my house one day while I was gone and annointed everything in my house and prayed over it that I would return to God. Deep down I wasn't happy. I was always searching for something to make me feel good. If it wasn't alcohol, it was a man; if it wasn't a man, it was my good-time partying friends. I always felt alone, even when I was in a room full of people. I constantly wondered who I really was. And I often thought, there has got to be more to life than this. There were several times when, if it hadn't been for my 2 children, I would have taken my own life. There are other times when I put myself in such stupid and dangerous situations that it is a wonder that someone else didn't take my life. I had chosen to go about things "the hard way".
But God knew where I would end up. And it took me losing almost everything I had to make me turn back to Him and say "OK, God.....I give up....I'll give it all to you if you will just let me come back to you." And you know what? He did. Just like that. And little by little I learned how to go about things "the easy way".
The "easy way" is to let God have complete and total control of your life. He really has all the control over your life anyway, so it's just a matter of you giving in to it. It's kind of like if you had a rope tied to your car and someone pushed it over a cliff. If you pulled and pulled you might could slow it down, but eventually the car is going to go over anyway. Because the pull of the car is stronger than we are. It's the same way with God: When we go against the plan He has for our lives, it slows down the eventual outcome, but the result is always what God wanted in the beginning. And just like with the car, if you pulled and pulled, the car is still going to go over the cliff, but you will have strained your muscles, calloused your hands, maybe seriously hurt yourself in the process. Again, it's like that with God: When we pull away, we hurt ourselves. Many times the scars that we receive while running from the Lord, are present for the rest of our lives.
Now that I am in God's Will, I can honestly say that it IS easier. I don't worry like I used to. I trust God. I know He will take care of me. He always meets my needs. There hasn't been a time when God didn't come through for me. Even though there are many times I haven't come through for Him.
Many of us choose the hard way because we want to be in control of our lives. We want to make our own decisions, and we foolishly think that we know what's best for us. But wouldn't it be so much better (and yes....EASIER!) to be able to hand all that over to someone who really DOES know what's best for us. God knows what you stand in need of even before you ask! "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." -Matthew 6:7-8 (NASB) And not only does He know what we need, He said He would give it to us! "Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." -Psalm 37:4 (KJV)
God has a perfect will and plan for each and every one of us. All we have to do is trust in Him, instead of pulling away from Him.
So....WE CAN DO THIS THE EASY WAY OR THE HARD WAY, IT'S UP TO YOU!
I want to leave you with the chorus of a song that my friend, Angela, sings at church. It's called "He'll Do It Again". No matter what you are going through, God has brought you through situations that seemed hopeless before, and He'll do it again!! It just makes it so much easier when you decide to go about it "the easy way". Until next time, be blessed....
Love,
Stephanie
He'll do it again
He'll do it again
If you'll just take a look
At where you are now
And where you've been
Well hasn't He always come through (for you)
He's the same now as then
You may not know how
You may not know when
But He'll do it again!
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