Today's Verse

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-”- Psalm 103:1-2

Thank you, Sweet Baby Fuzzwad!

thank you for the verse. i am finding out the more i praise god, even through the rough times, the better i feel. i love reading psalms for they soothe my soul. it has been said that david had issues of depression and that's why i can relate to many of his cries to the Lord.
keep on sending the verses.
gwen

I'm so very glad it helped you today!

It's said that God inhabits the praises of his children.

Matthew 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Alleluliah!!! Thank You God!!!

Would like to know from the believers in Christ on this forum... do you find it difficult to lay your burden down and trust Christ to take care of things for you?

By that I mean praying and saying or thinking, "Jesus Christ, I can't handle this problem. It's too big for me. It's in Your hands." And then not worrying about it anymore... just waiting to see what God does about it?

My mom used to tell me that I would take my problem to the Cross, ask Jesus to take it from me or to deal with it for me and as soon as I was finished praying, I'd pick it right back up again and walk away with it instead of leaving it for Jesus to do as I asked.

Sometimes I find that I even forget to GO to the Cross with some of my heavier problems! I'm pretty sure there are people here that do that, too. Just wondering if anyone is aware of it?

Tomi, I guess that I see that a little differently than you do. The way I believe, we are to take our problems to the Lord, and ask for help with them, but unless it really isn't *our* problem to begin with (say if you are worrying about something that is not within your means to change), I think that we are required to continue working with the problem ourselves, to do our part of whatever we can do, and to think of solutions to the problem. We should seek help from the Lord, but not expect Him to just carry it for us. He said "take my yoke upon you" which I think means that we still have work to do. He will help us, and carry any part of the problem that is too much for us, which might be the bulk of it.

There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a prophet who was commanded to build boats for his family to travel to a new land. He was given the exact specifications for the boats, and they were to be sealed up completely. This prophet thought about the boats, and agreed to build them, but it bothered him that they were going to be confined to these boats for quite a long time, and there would be no light. He went to the Lord with his problem, and was told to think about it and come up with a solution. So he went and spent some time pondering, and came up with a plan. He collected some stones and asked the Lord to touch each stone with His finger and light them up. It was a good plan and it was done. But the prophet had to struggle with it for a while, not just lay it down and have it solved for him.

That said, I do have a hard time asking for help, from God as well as anyone.

Rap

Maybe I didn't explain myself well. No way did I mean that we're supposed to ask the Lord to DO things for us and us just sit back and wait. That doesn't work! LOL I know we have to do our part.

What I was speaking about was not worrying about something we can't do anything about; like waiting for medical tests results, if they come back negative, not driving ourselves into a frazzle with worry but rather wait upon the Lord to carry us through the illness, to know you're out of money for the month and know that you've done everything you can do but know that God will get you through one way or the other. Like my family situation. I've finally stopped trying to do anything about fixing it because everything I did came out wrong. I refuse to think about it, too, for the most part because it only hurts but doesn't change. I've half-heartedly told God that the whole situation is in His hands. I won't get in His way anymore. But I still hold resentments and I know that I am right. The only thing I can maybe say that I've done wrong is write about it here. When I take a long, hard look at it, it wasn't wrong. What was wrong was that my privacy was violated.

It still feels to me that *I* should be the one doing something about it, but I've done everything I know how. It's not up to me anymore. BUT, I don't trust God to do anything, either. I stue and fret, I get angry, I cry, I miss those grandkids. If I had truly laid my burden at the cross, I wouldn't have those feelings. I'd be able to trust in the Lord and let Him work it out.

The same with my recent illness. I panicked for days! I'd pray, "Please, God! I'm not ready to die, yet! Don't let me lose my mind yet!" But I was still panicked. I didn't trust in God to work things out for the best. The medical tests still haven't been scheduled. I still don't know if there was any brain damage and what my chances are. Am I praying and trusting? No! I'm worrying. I keep leaving messages for the doctor. I even wrote her a letter! I didn't leave my burden at the cross.

I hope I didn't confuse you. Don't know how better to explain it, though.

I think sometimes we do get stuck though and literally have to take it to and wait for the Lord to open a window somewhere or close the door, etc. There are some situations where He has to "do" for us and/or perhaps suggest ways we can continue. It's kind of like Jesus in the Garden praying, "take this from me". He wouldn't have been able to "get out of" the situation by Himself if that had been God's Will. Peter got released from prison, etc. It's all right to pray for jobs, people's health, our own health/concerns and "sit back" and wait to see what response we get. We're made to want Him and need His help; we can't do "anything" on our own in many senses.

Can't even begin to remember the words of the verse that says to go by our own judgement or knowledge is folly. We need to wait on the Lord for his guidance. That sure has proven true for me, especially with the problems within the family. Everything I was doing was turned against me.

In so many ways "I'd rather do it myself!!" LOL It doesn't always work.

Perna, can YOU sit back and wait for the answer? I know better than to pray for "PATIENCE! And I want it NOW!!" LOL

I am right now in a situation where I am trusting God to work things out...I have done all that I can do in the natural..Me and my kids all "know" that it is going to be ok, but the circumstances we find ourselves in can be overwhelming at times...but it is at the very moment of despair that hope rises up again inside of me..or a peace that passes all understanding...Even though I know that He is going to work all things for his glory, I still struggle with a lack of patience..I want the problem solved yesterday and in the way that I see it should be..It is at these moments that I try to remember that his thoughts and ways are higher than mine...I was talking about this the other day with my 24yr.old son, telling him how I wanted it to end now and in the way that I think it should...and my son gently reminded me that I am on a journey, and there are things that need to be done in me while working this out...and he is right...I love how when you come through something, you can then see how God was there all along...How a plan unfolded...I struggle with why and can even get angry due to my lack of patience or lack of understanding...it is at those times that I try to share my heart with God..

Thanks, Climbing! I needed your reminder! I've been in those situations myself where I just "let go and let God" but it seems I can't do that until I feel totally defeated, like you said, "at the very moment of despair". Wish I could remember not to be so bullheaded and forgetfull of what the Lord has already done for me. Guess could say about me "Oh, ye of little faith!"