A lot of us can be put off from living a stronger Christian lifestyle because of the burdens associated with doing so. However, one of the things we are told in the Bible is God's burden is light, though sometimes it doesn't feel this way to us.
This feeling can limit the scope of what we perceive God doing and what he has control over. These are some of the things that show his control over the world and our lives:
- He knows the number of hairs on our head
- He commands where lightning goes
- He decides chance and probability
- He has power over the spiritual realm and the forces that oppose us
- All the wealth in the world is in his hands
- He determines how long we live and when we die
One of the luxuries we can enjoy as Christians is having God on our side. He says that we become 'Children of God' when we accept him into our lives, and this entitles us to perks.
Here are 12 things God does for us:
- He forgives our sins so we no longer need to be bound by guilt
- He heals sicknesses and injuries (and prevents them from happening)
- He renews youth and gives us supernatural energy and strength
- He gives us joy so we don't need to live a miserable life
- He shows us mercy
- He shows us compassion by answering our prayers and requests
- He gives us peace to escape from daily stresses
- He doesn't let us get tempted beyond what we can bear
- He provides all our needs so we need not worry about life
- He makes his ways known to us
- He grants us a divine inheritance so we need not fear death or eternity
- He gives us freedom to make decisions
The burden we are given is the task to take up our cross and follow Jesus. In other words we should strive to live life in dedication to God and do what is right—that's all.
The great thing is that by doing this we unlock a great bounty of gifts to help us get through the struggles, and sometimes just for our pleasure too!
Isn't God awesome? I can't help thinking back to all the psalms and seeing why these people were so full of praise.
We often make too much time to think about the struggles and not focus on the aid we receive during these times! Making time to praise God reminds us of his goodness and enables us to live a fuller life.
Tim Robertson is from Sydney, and likes to write about recent learnings in the hope that other people may also benefit from them.
Tim Robertson's previous articles may be found at www.pressserviceinternational.org/tim-robertson.html
