Saturday, July 20, 2019

Don't Forget God in the Midst of the Small Things -- a Thought




Disasters are the best for driving people to God. When something big, horrible, and life-changing happens, we analyze ourselves and (hopefully) go straight to the Word and prayer. Death, illness, loss, anything that shakes us causes us to desire solid ground. 
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. - Psalm 62:6 (ESV)
Sometimes we don’t go to God. The disasters in our lives can drive us farther from God if we’re aren't careful. But if problems drive us farther instead of closer, we are forgetting the purpose of suffering. God doesn’t just give us trials and leave us in the pit. He gives us trials so that we can learn to depend on Him, our Rock.
I have a theory. What if the smaller trials are even more deadly, in a spiritual sense, than the big trials? What if the everyday struggles to not lose our patience are more likely to pull us away from God than the horrible things we can’t contemplate? What if the problems that cause us to stop reading our Bibles and praying to our Father are invisible?
You see, the smaller problems create the easiest traps to fall into. Rather than pits, they are more like sinking sands. They’re the kind of things that come in massive quantities, the everyday things. Messes, homework, projects, fusses, scheduling are all things that are so small that we think we can handle them on our own. The truth is we can’t.
As we sink into the sands of stress, we are sinking so slowly we think it isn’t a real problem. 
It’s just sand, we think. I can just step out myself. I don’t need God.
As we try to handle things ourselves, we run to things that can’t really help us. Little pleasures, entertainment, and food might make you feel better for a little bit, but they don’t make a difference in the long run.
We need God — just as we always have. We need to go to Him in prayer. We need to go to the Word and hear His voice and build our houses on the Rock. 
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. - Matthew 7:25 (ESV)
With all the floods of problems in our lives, the sand isn’t a safe place to stand on. God is our only hope in the storms. We need to go to Him in everything — even in the tiniest problems. Especially in the tiniest problems. End of story.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Eliana,
    We have certainly found this to be true in our lives! We look forward to receiving your writings and greatly enjoy seeing what God is teaching you!
    Love you!

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  2. I agree also. Just thinking in regard to my job, the big scary 'high-stakes' issues get prayed about early and often, but the little stuff? Too often I don't even think of it, though if I catch myself thinking "I've got this" then I laugh at myself and know better. But I'm grateful sometimes God has helped me out with an idea before I grew the wits to think of asking Him for help. One of these days, I really hope I finally always remember to bring everything to God...but it appears I need a bit of training! I'm so glad that He is patient. =)

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    1. Yes, it is a very good thing that God is patient. =)

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  3. Thank you, Eliana, for the reminder to trust God even in the smallest things....I needed that!

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  4. Eliana such a good reminder! I know I need Him all the time but many times forgot to go to Him for the everyday stuff. I am so thankful for God loving kindness! You did a good job on this piece.

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