Steadiness
As I am considering what to write in regards to steadiness I have this mental picture of a horse trainer riding a new horse. I picture the trainer saying "Whoa, steady girl...steady..." Obviously, I'm no horse trainer, but I did read of a horse trainer seeking for help. This particular horse owner has a six year old Mustang she has been training for 10 months. Problem is, he can't seem to slow down. The result: "of course then I [the owner] get nervous and then he [the Mustang] gets nervous and we end up in a mess."
I wonder how many of us can relate to this?
Has there ever been a time in your life when you just can't slow down? You get nervous and then put your nervousness on someone else? Your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, friends, family, etc? All of a sudden, now you "end up in a mess" with your spouse, friends, families. There seems to be a cycle: You get nervous, you bring someone else into your nervousness, and then there is a mess. Which probably leads to more nervousness, at the least.
Well, what's the problem? Why do we get nervous? There can be a ton of reasons as to why we get nervous. Yet, I would suggest that at the bottom of all the specifics that cause you and I to get nervous is fear. I believe that nervousness is the result of not knowing what lies ahead. Whether it's five minutes from now, tomorrow, next week, or next year.
The tendency is to react to nervousness by trying to grab a stronger hold of the reins and start taking charge of life. But I would submit to you, maybe that makes the problem worse. Maybe that leads us to a position of making a mess of things. The basic assumption is that whenever we begin to believe "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul" we are stepping outside of our realm of responsibility and moving into God's realm of responsibility.
We may not say with our mouths that we want to control our lives, but functionally, by our actions and attitudes, we do. That natural sinfulness within us as fallen humanity begins to rise and take control.
What is wrong with us is that we tend to lack in faith and trust in the Lord. Some would say the solution is simply: have faith...or...trust God. But what does that mean? To better understand faith and trust in God, most of us need to confess that we love a savior but not a lord. We all have faith and trust that through Christ we will experience eternal life with God. But how does the Gospel affect our lives now and in the midst of our nervousness?
The Gospel proclaims to us that we were bought with a price and that we are now prized possessions of the Most High God. We read in Scripture the promises of not a sparrow falling to the ground without God's "Ok"; or of how the Lord clothes the lilies of the field in more splendor then Solomon's temple. We reads in Romans that God orchestrates all things in an individual's life for good, if they are called according to His purposes.
We see all these promises, so why do we worry? Why do we get nervous? Because we don't know how those promises will affect our current situation and what will happen next. As one who is the king of struggling with nervousness I must confess: I don't think God will always tell us what will happen next. For most of us, this will drive us crazy. But it reveals how shallow our obedience is and how conditional our walk with the Lord is.
"God, I'll go, if only you could tell me what is around the corner."
"God, how do you expect me to make a decision when I don't know what lies ahead?"
How do we change? We strive for what a mentor of mine once told me, the "long, slow, path of obedience." I have a couple of friends who are all the time asking me for prayer as to should they do this or that, then a week later it's a whole new set of ideas. Even in relationships, I have seen guys go in and out of interest in a girl, ultimately break it off, confess that they need time to be single, and two weeks later come home from another date. WE NEED TO PURSUE STEADINESS.
I recently memorized James 1:2-8. James says that the various trials we face produces steadfastness (steadiness). We have to let steadfastness run it's course in order to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James says that if you are lacking wisdom, ask God, and He'll give it to you, no questions asked. But, the condition: You must ask in faith. If you do not ask in faith and doubt that God will provide wisdom to you, then don't expect any.
God won't give you wisdom if you don't think He can.
This person is double-minded and unstable in all his ways. But, Peter gives us a hope that we can hold onto in times of nervousness. 2 Peter 1:3-4 says:
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
Here is some help to you in times of nervousness, anxiety, fear, worry, etc.
1. God, in his divine power, has given you everything you need for life and godliness. God has given you His Word, His Spirit, and His Body (the Church). This does not mean that Scripture has specific, detailed answers for every issue known to man; but it does deal with the most important issue (Sin) and it does guide you in how you are to live and grow in godliness no matter what comes in life.
2. This life and godliness comes through the knowledge of Christ, who calls us to his own glory and excellence. This highlights the need to preach to ourselves. We must remind ourselves of the Gospel everyday. We must keep the Words of Christ fresh in our hearts and minds. What else must we have knowledge of?
3. His "precious and very great promises" that God has granted us. We have promises like that of the sparrows and lilies, and God working all things for God. We must remember that God's Word does not return void. God's Word must be applied to our lives, we must live in light of the promises that God has given us.
4. As we do this we become partakers of the divine nature. Another way of saying this: we are escaping the corruption that is in the world. As we hold on to all that God has given us for life and godliness, namely knowledge of Christ and the Word of God, that includes great promises, we will be conformed more and more into the image of Christ. We will become more and more aware of who God is, and we will go deeper and deeper in our relationship with Him.
As these things occur our roots grow deeper and deeper in the firm foundation that is Christ. Though we may not know what life has in store for us, we can place our life in the hands of the God who does know what will happen next. We can trust that God says all will work out for our good and His glory.
We must pursue the "long, slow path of obedience." This is steadiness. This is steadfastness.
I'll leave you with this precious promise from the Psalms:
"He is like a tree transplanted into streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." Psalm 1:3
Trust in God, he will give you wisdom and everything you need for life and godliness in the midst of nervousness.
Has there ever been a time in your life when you just can't slow down? You get nervous and then put your nervousness on someone else? Your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, friends, family, etc? All of a sudden, now you "end up in a mess" with your spouse, friends, families. There seems to be a cycle: You get nervous, you bring someone else into your nervousness, and then there is a mess. Which probably leads to more nervousness, at the least.
Well, what's the problem? Why do we get nervous? There can be a ton of reasons as to why we get nervous. Yet, I would suggest that at the bottom of all the specifics that cause you and I to get nervous is fear. I believe that nervousness is the result of not knowing what lies ahead. Whether it's five minutes from now, tomorrow, next week, or next year.
The tendency is to react to nervousness by trying to grab a stronger hold of the reins and start taking charge of life. But I would submit to you, maybe that makes the problem worse. Maybe that leads us to a position of making a mess of things. The basic assumption is that whenever we begin to believe "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul" we are stepping outside of our realm of responsibility and moving into God's realm of responsibility.
We may not say with our mouths that we want to control our lives, but functionally, by our actions and attitudes, we do. That natural sinfulness within us as fallen humanity begins to rise and take control.
What is wrong with us is that we tend to lack in faith and trust in the Lord. Some would say the solution is simply: have faith...or...trust God. But what does that mean? To better understand faith and trust in God, most of us need to confess that we love a savior but not a lord. We all have faith and trust that through Christ we will experience eternal life with God. But how does the Gospel affect our lives now and in the midst of our nervousness?
The Gospel proclaims to us that we were bought with a price and that we are now prized possessions of the Most High God. We read in Scripture the promises of not a sparrow falling to the ground without God's "Ok"; or of how the Lord clothes the lilies of the field in more splendor then Solomon's temple. We reads in Romans that God orchestrates all things in an individual's life for good, if they are called according to His purposes.
We see all these promises, so why do we worry? Why do we get nervous? Because we don't know how those promises will affect our current situation and what will happen next. As one who is the king of struggling with nervousness I must confess: I don't think God will always tell us what will happen next. For most of us, this will drive us crazy. But it reveals how shallow our obedience is and how conditional our walk with the Lord is.
"God, I'll go, if only you could tell me what is around the corner."
"God, how do you expect me to make a decision when I don't know what lies ahead?"
How do we change? We strive for what a mentor of mine once told me, the "long, slow, path of obedience." I have a couple of friends who are all the time asking me for prayer as to should they do this or that, then a week later it's a whole new set of ideas. Even in relationships, I have seen guys go in and out of interest in a girl, ultimately break it off, confess that they need time to be single, and two weeks later come home from another date. WE NEED TO PURSUE STEADINESS.
I recently memorized James 1:2-8. James says that the various trials we face produces steadfastness (steadiness). We have to let steadfastness run it's course in order to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James says that if you are lacking wisdom, ask God, and He'll give it to you, no questions asked. But, the condition: You must ask in faith. If you do not ask in faith and doubt that God will provide wisdom to you, then don't expect any.
God won't give you wisdom if you don't think He can.
This person is double-minded and unstable in all his ways. But, Peter gives us a hope that we can hold onto in times of nervousness. 2 Peter 1:3-4 says:
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
Here is some help to you in times of nervousness, anxiety, fear, worry, etc.
1. God, in his divine power, has given you everything you need for life and godliness. God has given you His Word, His Spirit, and His Body (the Church). This does not mean that Scripture has specific, detailed answers for every issue known to man; but it does deal with the most important issue (Sin) and it does guide you in how you are to live and grow in godliness no matter what comes in life.
2. This life and godliness comes through the knowledge of Christ, who calls us to his own glory and excellence. This highlights the need to preach to ourselves. We must remind ourselves of the Gospel everyday. We must keep the Words of Christ fresh in our hearts and minds. What else must we have knowledge of?
3. His "precious and very great promises" that God has granted us. We have promises like that of the sparrows and lilies, and God working all things for God. We must remember that God's Word does not return void. God's Word must be applied to our lives, we must live in light of the promises that God has given us.
4. As we do this we become partakers of the divine nature. Another way of saying this: we are escaping the corruption that is in the world. As we hold on to all that God has given us for life and godliness, namely knowledge of Christ and the Word of God, that includes great promises, we will be conformed more and more into the image of Christ. We will become more and more aware of who God is, and we will go deeper and deeper in our relationship with Him.
As these things occur our roots grow deeper and deeper in the firm foundation that is Christ. Though we may not know what life has in store for us, we can place our life in the hands of the God who does know what will happen next. We can trust that God says all will work out for our good and His glory.
We must pursue the "long, slow path of obedience." This is steadiness. This is steadfastness.
I'll leave you with this precious promise from the Psalms:
"He is like a tree transplanted into streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." Psalm 1:3
Trust in God, he will give you wisdom and everything you need for life and godliness in the midst of nervousness.
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