Jesus said, speaking of the devil, “The thief comes to steal, to kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and that they might have it MORE abundantly.” John 10:10. God’s word promises me not just life, but abundant life in Jesus. God has not brought me on this journey to take away from me. His word promises me more, not less. His word is true, my heart is a liar when it is believing contrary to what God declares. I cannot move forward on life’s journey unless I leave behind and cast off my old belief system. The baggage, the lies I hold on to, believe and operate in, can become “truth” to me because I refuse to exchange them for the truth of what God says. Only what He says is true!

My belief system has to change.

God has come to liberate me from the barbed wire I have become entrapped in. He will pour in the healing balm of the abundant life of His Son, Jesus Christ, the embodiment of all truth. Your circumstances are “the sheep-dog” that will drive you to the Shepherd of your soul, our Lord Jesus. This is the place where we find rest for our souls. The most disregarded, well known scripture is found in Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus charges us to, “Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

As it was for Jesus on this earth, so it is for us. Jesus said, Matthew 10:24, “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.” In all of Jesus’ trials and difficulties, He kept focused on His Father’s will and purposes. He trusted His Father, had confidence towards Him producing an expectancy which He saw fulfilled in a demonstration of God’s power.

The abundant life Jesus lived on this earth is our birthright through His sacrifice at Calvary. God often permits circumstances to do a work in my heart, before He changes them. He desires that I live my life firstly to Him, to please Him, not men. If my ways please God, He gives favour with God and men.

A young sapling tree, when planted, is tied to a stake of dead wood to support it as it grows in strength to maturity, otherwise, when strong winds blow, the young sapling could break. When the young tree is strong enough, the dead wood stake is discarded. It has served it’s purpose and is no longer needed. We are like the young sapling. God ties us up to circumstances (the stake), and in them we mature as we learn to trust Him and prove He is, who He says He is. When we reach a level of maturity, faith and trust in God in the situation, then the “dead wood” of our circumstances is removed by the Lord. In retrospect, we find nothing can compare with the treasure we discovered there, the secret hiding place of abiding in the deep love and care of our Heavenly Father. He is surely the God of all comfort and when I abide with Him, He gives sweet rest to my soul, independent of whatever circumstance I am in.

God’s word declares His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Our problem often is that we try to understand His ways when He just wants us to trust Him and walk in His way. Our attitude to God can be childish, (wanting Him to please my every whim), instead of childlike, (learning to trust and obey). God is not a waiter!….for me to flick my fingers and attend my whims to fix my life. Jesus served His Father and we are called to serve Him, not to be served. When I do not understand the workings of God, I have to bow my understanding and trust Him. Do I murmur and complain at the things I do not like in my life? Or, do I recognise that this is Holy Ground? God is in the midst and is waiting for me to bow to Him in it. Exodus 3 records the calling by God of Moses. Moses saw a bush on fire and could not understand why the fire was not consuming the bush. When he turned aside to discover why, God had his attention, and commanded Moses to remove his shoes, as the place he was standing on was holy ground. As it was with Moses, so it will often be with us: God requires us to remove the shoes of “our understanding“, and recognise the “holy ground” in our lives where He is teaching us His ways. I do not have to understand everything, but when I bow to God, He gives me His peace beyond measure. This is the place of God’s rest that I value and God delights in, as I do His will. Only God can bring order out of chaos.

I can spend my days trying to reach God, yet not realising He has come down to lift me up. It is all of God. Psalm 3:3 “For you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.” We have been lifted by His overwhelming love for us. Let us continue our journey with Him, seeing our circumstances through God’s perspective, exchanging our wrong belief systems for what His word declares. Only what He says is true!