It's All Yours Lord!

Good evening! We struggle to do everything possible to be in control of the situation or to solve the problem in our own strength. However, when the tribulation has become too great for you and me to handle, there is only one thing to say. Jesus, dear Lord Jesus, it's all yours. If you get in a huge mess, no matter what kind of mess it is, do you have anyone in your life to just dump the problem on except Jesus? We might try, but we are each too great a burden for the other. When despair threatens to overwhelm you and your faith is all but gone, to whom do we turn at the bottom of that shaft? Jesus, is the only answer for us. Why then does it take us so long to get there? God places us in a situation where we have only one simple choice: go it on our own and endure complete disaster, or trust in Jesus and let go of all our plans, schemes, worries, and fears. One of the great joys of the Christian is to stand up and say, "I'm not afraid; Jesus has the situation under His control." Now that's faith, and we fight tooth and claw to avoid going there.

Is it possible that somehow we like our fears and worries? Does the flesh revel in sympathy so that we run to others instead of coming to God in complete faith? What is that dream going around in your mind that seems so at odds with the current circumstance? There is no way on earth that you or I can fulfill that dream without our Lord Jesus, so why do we want God to give complete control to us? I've been there, I know the feeling. We go buy a lottery ticket or something like that and pray, "God, give me this big pile of loot please. Then I'll take it from there. Thanks, Lord, you're great." Gee, do we see why a prayer like that might not be answered? Now, let us look at the other side of it.

We didn't go buy a lottery ticket, we didn't head on up to the casino for the weekend with the food money, but somehow through the ways of the world the obligations on us are too great. Flat broke, bankrupt, in the poor house, whatever you want to call it, when the taxman cometh, you ain'ta gotteth. Fear, in the form of trouble with the government, washes over you like a dark wave. Not only that, but all the other debts are coming on right behind the taxman. You, me, anyone can suddenly find himself in over his head in this manner. In fact, it happened to many folks over the past few years who did nothing wrong and nothing to deserve it. Dreadful situation, yes? But, we have someone who provides for us and we know where to go in prayer. In talking with God, He makes a promise to provide payment for those obligations. The problem is, the Lord might not give us the date, or He does provide a date, but lets us go on faith until the last possible moment. I can tell you that learning to trust in the Lord completely under those circumstances can be difficult. Is there an indication in the words of our Lord that says it could be this way? Why, yes, it does seem that Jesus said something along those lines.

"Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:14)

I think we find it difficult to understand the difficulty of faith until faced with a mountain that we cannot move. When a situation demands more than we can give. When God places restrictions on us that lead us down one narrow corridor. When the fear of the circumstance overwhelms our abilities and resources. Then we see where faith begins. Like a steer rounded up in the wild, we are forced by yapping shepherd dogs, by cowboys on horses, and by the barriers of the corral, to the one place where our Lord awaits. To our wild nature, it looks as though we have been herded to the point of destruction. Then, Jesus puts his seal on us and it doesn't hurt at all. We then join His herd and find that what we feared is for our good. Faith, it's tough to accept, but great to have.

Bucky