Are you #struggling with letting God handle the difficult things in your life? We all have tough times and trials that we wish we didn't have to go through but Go has promised to stand beside us and even carry us through those times if we let Him.
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I invite you to read Matthew chapter 16 with your study this morning.
He is saving my soul.
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”
Matthew 16:24-27 NKJV
This post may contain affiliate links. Which means, if you choose to click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission from that purchase. If you choose to make a purchase and support my blog, I am truly thankful for your support and would love to hear about it. You can send me a message at tanya@scripturesparrow.com or comment below to reach me. Have a blessed Day.
When Jesus said to deny ourselves, it wasn’t that we shouldn’t feed or clothe ourselves but that we should focus our desires on him and not on the things of this world. If my desires are based on His well, I will desire the things he wants for me and not the things I want for myself. This is why the #Bible says to pray according to His will. If we ask all things according to God‘s will and not our own, then we can be sure his answer is what’s best for us even if we don’t understand it.
Not my burden to bear
"Taking up His cross" means to follow him in all things. It means never letting go of the hope and love that He gives to us. Of course we are all human and sometimes we fail. It happens. Remember this, when you fail to focus on him, or when you struggle to stay on the path... as soon as you realize your error, get back on that path and follow him again. #Pray for all things according to His will and be content with the answer He gives you even if it’s wait or no.
The #cross itself is a heavy burden, one we could not carry alone. I don't mean the wooden structure but the suffering it symbolizes. If Christ (the propitiation for our sin) had not died for us, we would be left struggling to pay the dept of our sins by ourselves and of our own power, which is impossible. But, through Christ, all things are possible. He was the only perfect man because he was God and man, the only who could pay this price in our stead.
In a past study we looked at "My burden is easy and my yoke is light." Even though being a follower of Christ is not easy, setting your burdens on Him makes the struggles of this world bearable because you know He is always with you and He has a plan. As humans, sometimes its hard to let go of our burdens and trust that they will be taken care of while we are looking elsewhere. We want to hold on to the control of a negative situation to make sure the best is being done to resolve it.
Laying your #burdens on Him doesn't mean ignoring them, you may still have to take on responsibility or follow through with a course of action, but you can let God handle the "what if" and the "what's next." May times the burden of a situation is worry but it can also be self blame or misplaced responsibility. If there are consequences to your actions, you must take on that responsibility, but God is willing to help you shoulder the burden of it. He may or may not reduce the physical toll of it, but it is a promise that He is beside you all the way.
Refinement
Sometimes we are allowed to go through troubled times in order to refine our faith and refocus our lives. Pray for clarity and wisdom in these situations and ask the Lord to take on your burdens and bring you #peace. He will guide you through your troubled times and bring you out stronger in the end.
“And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.”
Crafty time
My craft today is a cross, to remind us of the burdens Christ already carried for us. He is able to take on our troubles if we let Him.
What you need:
White and Blue (or color of choice) cardstock
double stick tape or glue stick
1 or 2 pieces of 16" ribbon
Fine point Cricut blade
Fine point black Cricut pen
This particular craft took me several tries. The first design I made was quite intricate and no matter what type of cardstock I used, or what pressure I set the machine to, it would tear as it was cutting. I cleaned and sharpened my blade several times and even replaced it with a new one. In the end I changed the entire design. I hope you enjoy the final design and can either use it as a bookmark as I am or give it as a gift to someone who needs encouragement.
Happy Crafting Little Sparrows!
-ScriptureSparrow