God is Bigger Than Your Circumstances

Life can seem overwhelming, especially when you’re in the middle of something you can’t see your way out of. Our circumstances can blind us and even lead us into wrong direction when we try to fix it on our own. Waiting through a health issue, a job loss or a broken relationship can fill you with worry, anxiety or guilt.

Worry, anxiety and guilt can wreak havoc on more than your emotional state, they will get you stuck. When you’re trapped in your thoughts, it’s impossible to move forward to what God has for you.

So, what’s the answer?

We have to trust God and remember that He is bigger than our circumstances. I believe that when you’re watching for God while you’re waiting, He will show you things along the way to remind you that He’s still there and working a bigger plan.

You Can Trust Him

A few years back, my husband lost his job, immediately all the things we needed to be able to take care of flooded my mind. There’s the house payment, the car payment and my son’s braces! Somehow that one seemed to be the big extra, we were still making payments on those crazy braces. He better appreciate his straight teeth after what they cost! The next day, I called the orthodontist just to find out where we were in the process and discovered the braces were almost paid for. Only one more month’s payment. What a relief! It felt like a first step to surviving a reduced income. God is going to make a way through this.

A couple of weeks passed and the bill showed up mixed in with all the junk mail and another unusual envelope sitting on top of it. I opened the bill. Yes! It was exactly the amount they told me and it was marked FINAL PAYMENT. Hallelujah! Next, I opened the unusual envelope, inside I found a rebate check from contact lenses I had sent in months ago, before this job loss was even a thought in my mind. And you want to guess how much it was for? The EXACT same amount as the last payment on the braces. The envelopes came in the mail on the same day, with the check sitting on top of the bill. God was reminding me I could trust him. He literally had it covered!

God Has a Bigger Plan

In Genesis we learn the story of Joseph who was sold by his jealous brothers into slavery and became successful working for Potiphar, who was an officer of Pharaoh. After a manipulative situation with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph unjustly ended up in prison. (Find out more about that story HERE!) After overcoming his brother’s offense years before, he was now in another difficult circumstance that was brought on to him by someone else. Joseph continued to trust God and follow Him, even in prison. While there, he met Pharaoh’s cup bearer and was able to interpret a dream for him. Then after 2 more years of waiting in prison, this event led to Joseph’s release when he was called on to interpret dream for Pharaoh.

What seemed like two horrible circumstances, were events that God used to place Joseph EXACTLY where he needed to be. Joseph rose to second in command in the kingdom. When the famine that Joseph interpreted from Pharaoh’s dream became reality, Joseph was in position to save the lives of his father, Jacob and his brothers, despite them attempting to destroy him years before.

It wasn’t only Joseph’s brothers who were saved. Joseph’s righteousness was directly a part of our salvation story. Because Joseph was in prison, he met the cupbearer, who introduced him to Pharaoh, who gave Joseph the opportunity to save his brother Judah, who is in the direct lineage of Jesus, the lion of Judah.

We have a God who cares about us. He doesn’t want us to live stuck. He’s inviting us to trust Him in the little things and the big things. When we can’t see the way, we can know He is working a plan created specifically for us. Pray that God will take your worry, anxiety and guilt so you can move forward into what he has for you. Then watch while you’re waiting, He will show the way and you just may see some reminders of how He is taking care of you.

God is Bigger Than Your Temptations

There is so much in this world that fights for our attention. Putting God first is something we say we want to do, but in how often does it really happen. The truth is sin is anything that is serving ourselves over God. We tend to define sin into categories, ranking them into the “big” ones and often making excuses or justifying the “little” ones.

When we put ourselves first, when we make up our own rules, it’s like saying we think we know better than God. We’re ignoring what He tells us is true and following what we think is best.

Overcoming the desire to serve ourselves isn’t easy, but it is what God asks of us.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Matthew 16:24-25

Thankfully, God gives us some examples of how He can help us overcome temptation.

Be Ready

Know when temptation is coming.

Temptation often follows a spiritual high. When you are in a place where you’re feeling good about your faith, this is often a time that Satan chooses to tempt you and try to bring you down. You may have experienced coming home from a spiritual retreat or mission trip, feeling fired up and ready to serve, only to get hit by trials or hardships that threaten to derail your ambition.

Even Jesus’ temptation followed this example. In Mark 1, we learn that Jesus was baptized by John, the heaven’s opened and the Holy Spirit descended. The voice of God came from heaven saying “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” Talk about a spiritual high. All three persons of the trinity physically in one place announcing the blessing of God on this event. Then Mark tells us that “immediately” Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Know how to handle the temptation.

Jesus was ready to handle the temptation by using scripture and knowing the truth. He knew that Satan had nothing to give Him that He did not already have. With each temptation, he quoted the truth of scripture to overcome the deceptive reasonings of the devil.

Joseph is another example of a man who was ready for temptation. (Genesis 39) Potiphar’s wife had a plan for Joseph to fall and he knew it. When he ignored her sexual advances, she only became more aggressive. Joseph had determined “in advance” to do the right thing, no matter the cost. When she approached him again, he had already decided that he was going to get away from the situation and he ran, leaving his clothes in her hands during his escape. She shifted the blame on him and used the opportunity to take him down, leaving Joseph is prison. God ultimately redeemed the situation in a way that would never seem possible. This decision to follow God no matter what ultimately had a connection that affects us all. (Read more about that HERE!)

Don’t get TOO close.

Be careful about the situations you allow yourself to be in. Temptation is much easier to resist if you’re too far away to fall in.

Find the Way Out

When we are tempted God doesn’t leave us alone.

I Corinthians 10:13 tells us

No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.

God promises to give you a way out when you are tempted. Look for it. Pray for his help. You always have the opportunity to choose the right way. Even if you’ve fallen for it a thousand times, God can give you the strength overcome. When we do what is right, God uses our intentional obedience to do amazing things.

How to Pray Scripture

Although it seems like it should be easy, prayer can feel confusing. Sometimes we don’t know what to say or feel like we’re not saying the “right” words. When you find yourself looking for direction when talking to God, try using the Bible to guide your prayers.

Why should you use scripture to guide your prayer?

1. We know God’s Word is true and is God’s will. When we pray scripture, we can know that what we are asking for is pursing the right direction. Scripture teaches us more about God. As we pray scripture, we learn His ways and become more like Him.

This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15

2. Praying scripture helps us be more thorough in our prayers. We tend to pray the same things over and over and go back to the ideas that are familiar to us. When we pray using scripture, it expands our thinking to include new concepts that might not come naturally to us. This grows our faith and teaches us to learn God’s ways and what is important to Him.

How do you pray scripture?

While You Read

Reading your Bible and praying don’t have to be separate experiences. In fact, they shouldn’t be! While you are reading God’s word, talk to Him about it. If you’re confused about what a verse means, ask Him to help you understand it. You have 24/7 access to the author! Think about the concepts or the stories you are reading and pray that God would show you how they can be used in your life.

The Holy Spirit

1 John 2:27 tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us. Even if we never had access to preachers, teachers or Bible study resources, the Holy Spirit helps us understand scripture, AND there’s more… If you believe in God, the Holy Spirit lives in you and knows you. He can help you to use that scripture and apply it to your specific situation. This is one way God’s word is described as “alive and active”. It means something different to us depending on what is happening in our life. The words of the Bible written 2000 years ago are still relevant to us today.

Prayer activates this understanding, so before you begin reading God’s word, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the words you are reading and know what they mean to you today.

Use Prayers from the Bible

The Bible is full of prayers already written for you. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) gives us a structure of how to pray. Paul often wrote prayers for the people in the churches when he wrote his letters. The Psalms of David are full of prayers. Jesus even prayed for those who believe in Him. We can also use these prayers to talk to God. Here are a few prayers from the Bible to get you started.

David – A Prayer of Thanksgiving – Psalm 30

Paul – Prayers of Power and Strength – Ephesians 1:15-20; Ephesians 3:14-21

Paul – Prayer to Know God’s Will – Colossians 1:9-14

Hannah’s Prayer – 1 Samuel 2:1-10

Jesus’ Prayer for Believers – John 17:20-23

Choose a Verse to Pray

If you are looking for direction in a specific situation, if there is an area that you need to grow spiritually or if there is something that God is teaching you, you can choose a verse to focus on. Spend a day, a week, a month or more using that verse to dwell on and pray about as you go through your day.

The Bible is also full of verses that tell us the promises God has for us. Praying the promises of God gives you confidence in who you are in Christ, what he has planned for your life and His power to complete it. Here are a few verses of promises from God.

The Lord is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.
James 1:5

Using a Journal Can Lead to Deeper Prayer

It doesn’t have be fancy, a simple spiral notebook will do. It doesn’t have to be long or eloquent. Write down the verse you’re praying. If you would like, journal or list a few things you learn while praying or answers God has given. Using more of your senses by writing helps you to understand more deeply, to remember what you’ve prayed and to see patterns God is working to teach you. Looking back through your prayers, reminds you of God’s faithfulness. Praising God and thanking Him for what He’s done changes your perspective and transforms your life!

Remember that methods of praying and ideas are meant to be helpful, but don’t get caught up the logistics. Above all, JUST PRAY! Hopefully you often find quality quiet time to talk to God, but if you’re waiting for that to happen to pray, it won’t! Pray where you are, when you think about it, when you feel worried, challenged, confused, thankful or in awe. Just talk to God about everything that is going on. Bring Him into your every day and every moment.