God Cares about All your Problems

God cares about everything in your life. He is thinking about you all the time. 

I have seen amazing answers to prayer. When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I cried out to God. Years later, my medical specialist said the tumours had not grown and he thought I would probably never need treatment. That is wonderful. Cancer treatment can have very unpleasant side effects.

But what about little things?

I have a weakness in my lower back. I am 76. When I get up in the morning, my back often feels stiff and uncomfortable, even occasionally painful. I often do easy stretching exercises and that helps a lot. 

One night, I was restless all night. My sleep was not peaceful and I woke up with a sore back. When I went to bed the following night, I remembered God’s promises to heal my infirmities. I laid my hand on the sore place and quoted the Bible promise.

“… they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mk 16:18 NRSV

I slept peacefully and next morning my back was much better. After simple stretching exercises, I felt quite comfortable.

If you belong to Jesus, he is interested in everything in your life. He cares about the big problems and also the little problems.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Rom 8:31–32 NKJV

Trusting God on Grey Days

 Dear God, I feel grey and deflated. The sky is grey, but where is the rain?
It's warm, but not nice and warm.

What can I do when everything around me and inside me is grey? Never forget that God's love envelops me.

If you know Jesus as your Saviour, God's Spirit lives in you 24 hours a day.
You carry heaven within you.

Are you threatened by evil people?

I've been thinking about it since yesterday. I feel anger and no love, but I must love my enemies.
I pray for my enemy to meet Jesus before he dies.

I pray without tender feelings, but I pray anyway.

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Ps 25:1–2 NKJV

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. Ps 42:5 NKJV

Failure is not Final

 You failed. Perhaps you tried your best, but you failed.

We are all flawed, even when we want to do the best we can. Then your friendship, your job, your love relationship, your ministry explodes. You can now see how you went wrong.

But something is broken. You are suffering. The people you care about are suffering. What can you do?

We can cry out to God for help. Only God can knit your heart together. Only God can repair broken friendships.

Jesus died to reconcile you with God. He also wants to reconcile you with your neighbour.

Are you now ready to recognise your mistakes? Then God can help you in a marvellous way.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NIV

Jesus came to save sinners. No one is excluded. Jesus is also the good shepherd who restores his already saved sheep when they go wrong.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? Lk 15:4 NIV

Perhaps you are already a faithful disciple, but you have failed.

You have gone astray, but perhaps not too far. Nevertheless, you are hurt, and you have hurt your friendship or family too. You are devastated, but Jesus loves you no less.

Jesus still remains your good shepherd.

Even if you have truly sinned wilfully, you must know that Jesus wants to give you grace to repent and receive his forgiveness.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1:8–9 NIV

YOU CAN TRUST HIM WHEN YOU ARE DOWN

This life is often difficult. We have such high hopes and lovely dreams until reality hits us, people come against us or routine grinds us down. 

• We can easily lose sight of our dreams and lower our expectations of life.

• But if we read the Bible, God tells us to keep on believing more and more, not less and less.

When our earthly bodies grow weary, He calls us to Himself and reminds us we not only have a home in heaven but we will live in heavenly bodies like Jesus Himself after He returned from the grave.

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 2 Cor 5:1-2 (NLT)

But we don’t have to live out our earthly days in mediocrity and weakness. On the contrary, in our weakness we can turn to God and He will demonstrate His power on our behalf.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Cor 12:9 (NKJV)  

This text is sometimes used to prove that the Apostle Paul suffered from a chronic illness and Jesus refused to heal him. It is used to teach that we should not confidently expect Jesus to heal us when we are sick.

A closer look at Paul’s story quickly shows this argument is quite wrong.

Five different times the Jews gave me their terrible thirty-nine lashes. 

Three times I was beaten with rods. 

Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I was in the open sea all night and the whole next day. 2 Cor 11:24-25 (TLB) 

 ... They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 

But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. Acts 14:18-20 (NIV)

Paul could not have continued his mission without repeated experiences of miraculous healing.

What should you do when you feel weak and burdened?

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Mt 11:28-30 (NKJV)

• Our life experiences are often far from easy and our burdens are often heavy but Jesus will add His strength to your strength. 

• A problem may be far too heavy for you to bear alone but when Jesus carries your burdens, you can actually move forwards instead of being paralysed.           

How can you turn to God?

• Have you put your whole life in His hands?

• Have you committed your life to following Jesus Christ? Have you believed and trusted that Jesus bore all your griefs and sorrows on the cross and your pains and sicknesses as well?

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (NKJV)   

Jesus willingly carried all our burdens to the cross, our sin and guilt, our failures and disappointments, our sickness and infirmities, our weakness and death.

He died so that you and I could live.

Jesus is the miracle worker. He can turn your darkness into light, a tragic defeat into an incredible turnaround. 

He can turn a mentally ill person into someone who changes lives with love and power and peace. I have seen it. I have experienced it.

If you are in darkness, call out to Him.

'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)