The pressure was tremendous. A looming deadline at work weighed heavily on Ginger and she prayed she would make it in time.
Have you ever been in the middle of a prayer and suddenly a Bible verse comes to mind? As Ginger prayed, she remembered Psalm 138:8, which says, “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me” (NASB). The New International Version of the Bible translates the verse this way: “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.”
Ginger realized she had not been praying for God’s strength or for His purpose to be fulfilled. In her preoccupation with the deadline she had prayed that she would have the strength to complete the task on time. It is such a subtle and yet critical difference.
Immediately she confessed her self-sufficient attitude to God, and she asked Him to accomplish His purpose through her. As a result, she didn’t feel so overwhelmed. She knew God was helping her to finish the project.
All of us feel overwhelmed at times. Perhaps it is a large project you are working on or maybe it’s just the daily demands on your time and energy from family, friends work, and church. When that happens, we need to stop and ask ourselves, “Am I working under my own strength or am I allowing God to work through me?” If you are feeling burdened, you are probably working on your own.
Jesus addressed this issue in Matthew 11 when He said,
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (vv. 28,30).
When we learn to rest in the Lord’s strength, the burdens will lift and we will feel at rest.
Friend, don’t try to live each day on your own or confine God to certain areas of your life. That is relying on your own self-sufficiency. Instead, in all that you do. Allow God to work through you. He will give you the strength that you need to accomplish His purposes for you.
“Blessed is he who has believed that what the Lord has said to him will be accomplished!” Luke 1:45
By Vonette Bright, My Heart is in His Hands—Winter
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