Daily Bible Study – Immanuel experience…
LEARN and PRACTICE the WORD of GOD
Reasons for Stress and Solutions
Misplaced trust.
How to Trust our God wholeheartedly?
(Continuation from yesterday)
5. Resist Evil and do not allow thief to steal our relationship with God
1 John 2:16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
In other words, our blessings can easily become our stumbling blocks when we think of them as what we deserve or what we need to be happy.
Instead, life works best when we remember the true source of our blessings—God—and focus on the things that please Him:
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.” (Proverbs 3:7)
Sometimes, the only way to live the life God wants us to live is by separating ourselves from the bad influences that keep dragging us down. That works the best when we start pursuing something else in their place:
“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22)
Is that easy? Not at all. Fleeing from the evil desires that pull at us means spending a lot of time crying out to God and leaning on Him. But our Creator promises to honor our commitment to Him when we shun evil:
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you
6. Put God First in Your Life and declare the truth
The first of the Ten Commandments states we will have no other gods before Him (see Exodus 20:3). And Deuteronomy 5:8-9 says, You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods
Anything can become a god to us—anything we worship or put an excessive amount of time into. Even your feelings can become a god if you allow them to control you. We need to ask ourselves, Am I bowing down to God and His Word or to my feelings?
Proverbs 3:9–10 “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
If we can trust God with the first of our wealth, we’re truly showing how much we depend on Him. Handing over the first part of our paycheck takes a huge amount of faith, after all. But doing so means being God-centric.
Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Benefits of Keeping God First
Make it your goal to have a deep, intimate relationship with God. Let Him into every area of your life. If you constantly look to other people for answers and validation, pray about this and ask the Lord to help you stop doing that and instead look to Him. If we live to please God, He promises to bless our lives and make us prosper. And His presence will be always with us.
7. Check Yourself by God’s Word
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
We may be good justify us. Be honest, we aren’t so good at evaluating ourselves. We will go to great lengths to excuse our behavior, our actions, and our sins. Who needs a defense attorney when we can pretty much find a reason for any bad thing we do? The prophet Jeremiah captures this very well:
If we’re ever going to truly trust in God and flee evil, we must know exactly where we stand. We must find an objective measure that tells us the truth. And that truth comes from God and His Word.
“My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke” (Proverbs 3:11)
That’s right. Sometimes it takes something bad happening or seeing ourselves in a bad light before we finally admit that we need to change. And the more we’re in the Bible, the more likely this is to happen.
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
When we have Scripture planted firmly in our hearts, God will often use that to deal with us.
8. Listen to the Holy Spirit
When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to the church, He told His disciples that this Counselor would be their spiritual guide. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
As we go through our day, this same Holy Spirit guides us, too. That means we don’t have to go it alone or hope we’re getting it right. No, the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth and protects us:
“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14)
After all, the gift of the Holy Spirit to us believers remind us that we can truly trust Him.
9. Rest in God’s Love
Solomon reminds us that God never takes a break or leaves us to fend for ourselves: “because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:12)
Of course, following each of these daily steps isn’t easy. That’s why Jesus said we have to deny ourselves and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). Trusting God takes a whole-hearted commitment from dawn till dusk. But we’re never alone in it:
“And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
Prayer: Abba Father, when all darkness weakness and helplessness comes, give us the sense of Your presence, I have nothing to fear when You on my side. I will be strong and courageous even in hard times. I will not be terrified or discouraged, for the Lord my God will be with me wherever I go. You will never leave me or forsake me. I do not need to figure everything out. You already know the best plan for my life. I will not try any man-made method to do only what You can do. Show me Your supernatural power. Teach me how to walk by faith and pray breakthrough prayers. I choose to have faith in Your ability to break through every obstacle in my life. Just like Joshua, You will give me the land and every place where my feet step. “Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes. I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever”.