MONDAY MUSINGS: No Striving

"Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works win you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart - so will you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." - Andrew Murray.

The above quote was part of my morning devotional reading. So again my heart and mind is focused on NOT STRIVING, not seeking my own, not trying to get ahead of others, and not even trying to make my mark on the world.

It's our human nature to push to the head of the line though isn't it? I've been guilty of this myself . Why is it that to be first, to be the best, to win top honors holds such appeal?

I think because it feeds our hungry sin nature.

Yet, Christ tells us of a very different way. He speaks of being lowly, being humble, preferring others, crucifying this fleshly nature and that he who is the least - the lowest - the most disregarded will be the greatest in heaven. (Mark 10:31)

Philippians 2:3 says, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than themselves."

I plan to take this scripture to work with me today and meditate on it. If you've been reading my posts you know that I need this timely reminder. God is definately working something out in me and in my character.

May the Lord Jesus make us all better servants and teach us to strive less and surrender more.

I pray that your work week is easy and your burdens like. And I further pray that you listen with your heart to all  God is trying to speak to you.

Kindest Regards,


Debbie

Stop Striving

(My brain is a little fuzzy this morning although I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee already so bear with me as I try to share what's been on my heart today.)

So much of life seems to be about striving, pushing, trying to accomplish more, to get noticed, to succeed.

I've been guilty of this myself numerous times. I am an overachiever by nature. There's something inside of me that drives me to want to be the best. Now that in and of itself is not bad, but when that desire gets out of balance and you deny yourself adequate rest and relaxation in order to meet self-imposed expectations then it's time to re-evaluate.

I've been guilty of striving so often in my life. For example, when I coached a Bible Quiz team I put in countless hours in preperation and practices to insure we'd win the championship - and we did 7 years in a row. This is just one example and trust me there are many.

But what I've learned as I'm gotten older (45 years old now - yikes!) is that the more I push and press and exhaust myself, the less glory God recieves when the goal is achieved.

 I told you yesterday that speaking at women's groups and selling and autographing books I've written at those speaking engagements has been a lifelong dream of mine. And it is. But what's worth noting is that so far, every speaking opportunity I've had did not come to through any effort aka 'striving' of my own. Instead, it came unexpectedly through sources that I had not even considered.

So the lesson for me in this is that if I will just relax and be faithful in what I know to do, God will do the rest. And I think that's what He's been trying to tell me all along.

And what about you my dear reader? What things do you strive for? Share your struggles with me and together we can grow towards more trust in God, and less striving on our own.

May you have a blessed and strengthened day. I do hope to hear from you. The give and take in sharing is how we sharpen one another towards good works!

"It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel." (Proverbs 20:3)