Psalm 23:1 (NIV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
What do we do when the evil one continues to knock on our
door, announcing day and night that trouble will now be our constant companion?
The 100 Years War began in 1337. Nine years later, the
English invaded Normandy, France, and Mont-St-Michel, which primarily consisted
of an abbey at that time, was soon surrounded by enemy forces. The inhabitants
of the island fortress would have had plenty of reason to be discouraged, but
they were not. They were, after all, pious men, and Mont-St.-Michel's
fortifications, as well as the surrounding North Sea and its fast-rising tides,
would be worthy adversaries to the British.
In 1424, the English decided to besiege the islet. After
all, these monks could not hold out for long if they were deprived of food and
water. The British were starting to gloat. The world was about to see who was
truly in charge in Normandy! There was no way the monks could survive this!
Mont St-Michel would be theirs within weeks!
What the British didn't know was that the inhabitants of
nearby Saint-Malo were bringing food and water by boat by night to the poor
souls besieged in Mont-St.-Michel. In the end, the siege against Mont-St.-Michel
resulted in the British becoming far more discouraged than the inhabitants of
the Mont-St-Michel abbey!
The British would continue to launch regular attacks
against the islet over the next 10 years, until 1434, when the enemy became
completely demoralized, abandoning hope of ever conquering this jewel of the
North Sea.
When the evil one knocks at our door, with his only
purpose being to bring about discouragement, we need to stand firm. We need to
rely on our Father and not let ourselves sway into despair. Instead, just as
the inhabitants of Mont Saint-Michel did when the British were knocking on
their doors with a similar purpose, we, with the guiding of God's Holy Spirit,
can completely discourage our enemy!
After all, if we put the King of Kings as our Lord in all
things, our victory is guaranteed! Read Psalms 23 and be reinvigorated with how
faithful our Lord is, no matter what our circumstances might be. After all,
"The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing." (Psalms 23:1) Or in other
words, putting God on the driver's seat will lead us to an out-of-this-world
abundance.
One thing we will realize sooner or later: When we think
we are in charge, we truly are not!
Have you ever crossed a border? What if you took the
wrong passport with you and you gave the border guard your wife's passport
instead of yours? It happened to one of my friends. The border guard was
laughing when he asked: "Hey! Your hair was much longer when this picture
was taken!"
What about receiving a performance evaluation and
noticing that the wrong named is mentioned: "My name is not Jack" And
when comparing evaluations with Jack's, you find that the two performance
evaluations are identical, except for the name. A blunder from a poor
vice-principal.
However when we hand everything, and I mean everything:
house keys, wallet, job concerns, health worries, broken relationship
nightmarish scenarios and anything else that may occupy our thoughts, to God,
something particularly special happens. Worry seems to evaporate into
nothingness. God is truly in control!
It's true that at times some concerns seem to reappear
from seemingly nowhere, but each time this happens, we need to wonder: Have we
left that particular concern in God's hands? Or have we stolen it back, as we
are the ones who want to be in control over that specific circumstance?
Do we want to be stress free? Do we truly desire that our
worries evaporate into nothingness? Maybe, just maybe, it is time to give all
control to the One who can handle it! After all, He is the One who encouraged
us to, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give
you rest." Matthew 11:28.
Truly we can defeat the evil one by discouraging him,
rather than the other way around! After all, isn't God the One we leave control
to?
Dear Lord, help us give you the control of our life in
everything. Once we do Lord help us not try and take the control back. In Jesus’
Name, Amen.
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