Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Be Still.....Just Be Still!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Be Still.....Just Be Still!: How many times have you heard, God will answer, just wait? How many times do you give God the problem, only to snatch it away, because you w...

Be Still.....Just Be Still!

How many times have you heard, God will answer, just wait? How many times do you give God the problem, only to snatch it away, because you were too impatient? How many times have you heard, give it to God, and let it go? If you are like me, the answer is many, many times.

As humans with skin on, living in an imperfect world, we somehow get the idea, we are experts on how things should go. Especially if the need is timely, or really great, we pray our desperate prayer, but before Fod can line up an answer, we grab the problem back, and try to figure it out ourselves. I know how hard it is to wait for God's answer.

We see only one way out of a situation, maybe two at the most. These are the obvious, human resources, that we think will work great. When we have it fixed in our mind, we pray to God to try and get Him to use our plan. I can tell you from experience, this never works. God see much more than just the immediate, so His plans are more complete and far reaching.

The part about answered prayer we don't always understand, is the waiting. Why do I have to wait? God can do anything, so why not just give it to me now? Yes, God can do anything, but His plans will always be the best for me, and I will learn from it. It goes much deeper than granting requests. God is not a magic genie. We humans make wrong choices, and then we need help. If God just gave us an easy out, we would not learn from our wrong choice!

Just because you can't see the plan unfold, it doesn't mean God is not working on your behalf. His plans require behind the scenes arranging and rearranging of circumstances. If you and I get out of the way, God will unfold it all to fall into place perfectly!  That is the hard part...getting out of the way.

As I grow older, and stay close to God, I've learned several things. There are times when God answers prayer, almost before I get the whole prayer out. Sometimes when He says no, I found out later, it was for my good. When He says wait, I have learned to trust Him. That total trust in Him is what allows me to let go, and leave it with Him.

I used to make a lot of bad choices, especially in finances. I prayed desperately for a solution, but what I was really praying for, was, no consequences. The more desperate I got for an answer, the more I took it away from God and tried to fix it myself. I made it worse. What I finally learned was to be honest with God, and realize the outcome with Him was not going to be a disaster for me. It took many years, but now, I can release all concerns to Him, and be still, and have peace.

It is like with anything else, we follow our own path, we sin, we face consequences, we learn. I have always been a slow learner! Now when I mess up, I can admit it, and take whatever God dea,s necessary to get me back on track! I am still, broken, still sin, still suffer pride, but, I am reminded sooner, that that is not the way I should continue. It has given my life clarity, simplicity, and far less anxiety! Those are never from God! 

Life on earth will never be perfect, but walk closer and closer with Jesus. Listen to Him. To listen, you have to be quiet! A friend recently shared that one day God, just shushed her, and said, just stop! Be still! Start today, to truly let Jesus take the troubles, whatever they are! He has broad shoulders, and He loves you! Follow Him! Allow Him space to make His plans work! It will take a lot of pressure off of you!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Who Is Your Master?

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Who Is Your Master?: Before I repented and allowed Jesus to lead my life, my master was Satan. Satan is real. His lies to me worked year after year. He is the ma...

Who Is Your Master?

Before I repented and allowed Jesus to lead my life, my master was Satan. Satan is real. His lies to me worked year after year. He is the master of lies and deceit. He does not care who he destroys. He ruled my life, and although I was not a bad child, I was selfish and wanted what I wanted. I never gave much thought to other people or their feelings.

I didn't know I was being lied to, I didn't know God or His word, so Satan's lies seemed normal to me. When you don't know what God says, you can't determine what is a lie and what isn't. As I grew older, I became more selfish. It didn't help that I was a spoiled only child. I was used to getting what I wanted. Satan won.

I was not nice to clerks or waitresses. I never saw them as people doing a job as best they could. It was all about me. Don't make me wait, my time is valuable. Don't think different from me, I am more important than you. I learned to lie to get out of trouble, or to avoid trouble. I never, ever took responsibility for my own actions.

When I finally met Jesus, and turned my life over to Him, He has cleaned me up, from the inside out. Jesus showed me how my temper and nasty behavior hurt others. I don't know how I became so mean, but I know Satan talked a good story and I believed him. He fed my ego, and convinced me I was really something, entitled to privileges earned from tearing others down.

Our world is in a constant battle with evil. When you follow your selfish desires, Satan wins. Never forget that Satan may win a battle, but he does not win the war! There is war all around us we can not see. Satan and his followers battle God's angels every day. It will be that way until Christ returns. Satan was God's most beautiful angel, but he wanted to be God. God kicked him out of heaven, and he has been seeking who he can devour since then.

His prideful self was his downfall. He in turn desires all of us to follow him. He knows he will be defeated at the end, so he has stepped up his program to do what damage he can. He uses our weakness as humans to try and destroy us. Part of you hates being submissive to any authority. By giving over our lives to God's authority, we defeat Satan. He hates that! He will scheme and plan anything to distract you or to take your eyes off Jesus. Once you belong to Jesus, Satan can not get that foothold. He will try, and we have to be vocal and tell him to get lost!

When I turned my life over to Jesus years ago, Satan attacked a week later. I had a massive library at home on satanism and witchcraft. God said, "Get rid of it all."  I started to gather it all to throw in the trash. God said," No! Burn it."  My husband and I started a fire in our fireplace, and started feeding it books. Most were hard bound, so it took many hours before they were destroyed. A few hours later, we started fighting and it escalated into the meanest and nastiest fight ever. We both stopped at the same time, and said "Satan!" Yes Satan was angry. I was no longer so easily managed.

If this happens in your life, just hang on. Jesus has you, and He will not let you go. Once you recognize how tricky Satan can be, you will know it's him, trying to get you to lose your focus. We are not as effective for God, when our focus is shifted. Satan knows that, and will try to trip you up. The good news is....you don't have to let him. The more you resist him, the easier it is to see his deceit. Once you are God's, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, Satan knows he has lost you.  His only defense is to be annoying. Jesus, holding your hand, has got this!  God wins!