God vs Aliens

The other day, actually quite a while ago I was scrolling through News24, (which I do occasionally so that I stay up to date with what is happening in the world around me), I came across a news story about aliens in JHB. That evening while I was driving home from work they are talking about it in the radio and the picture had been edited etc. to make people believe it was real. What shocked me quite a bit  about this was how people really believed that there were aliens out there even though there is not proof of aliens, we've never seen or experienced aliens people still believed it was true. The reason I was shocked was because people believe in aliens where there is no evidence they exist but they don't believe in God even though there is proof that he exists - He created the world.

People will spend hours looking for aliens, reading up on aliens and how people think they have "visited" earth but in reality no aliens have been found in space. No matter how hard astronauts look or how far they look they still can't find them. There has been new research found that there was or is water on Mars but this does not mean that their is life there, and even if there was that does not mean there are aliens living there.

People also spend hours searching for God and He has satisfied their search and revealed himself to them. I can speak from experience here, I've spend many hours searching for Him, reading up on Him and He has shown me Himself. He has spoken straight to my heart and I have experienced Him in numerous ways and on numerous occasions. It even says in the bible "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart" Jeremiah 29:13. I believe this is true because I have done this.

It's crazy how people place their hopes in finding aliens who never interact with us, but are closed to searching for God, who says we will find Him when we seek Him.

xKx

God is faithful even when it doesn't seem like it

A while ago a friend and I were chatting about God's promises and how we tell people that God always keeps His promises and is always faithful.  The reason this came up was because we were talking about a situation where a promise God had made to them had changed. It left us wondering, if the previous statement was true.. that God is always faithful and always keeps His promises.

Yesterday morning I was thinking about the Israelites and how God had promised that he would rescue them take them to the promised land.  He kept this promise, and took them to the promised land BUT it wasn't the generation that was given the promise.  So was God unfaithful to them? Did He break His promise? No, He kept His promise - the way the promise looked just changed.

So why did generation one of the Israelites not make it into the promised land? They sinned, they disobeyed God, they worried and moaned ALL the time.  God gave them chances and then the promise changed. Generation one never got to the promised land, but generation two did. God kept His promise but because of sin the way the promise looked changed.

How does this apply to us now a days since we're not generation one of the Israelites? The way I see it, God still gives us promises but sin, choices we make, other people involved make, etc can change the out come of that promise. God may promise us something, but we may do something, or something might happen and the original promise may not be applicable anymore, so God then works the best in that situation and a different outcome of the promise happens. It doesn't man that God hasn't kept His promise, it just changed. It doesn't mean that God isn't faithful, He is. The way it was meant to happen changed and God did something new - but He still works the good in the situation and completes what He said He will do, it just may look different to how we originally thought it would unfold.

xKx

Letting Go

One of the things that I struggle with the most in walk with God is letting go.

I think this is the hardest thing for me to do, and I think it stems from the fact that I have a deep need to be in control of EVERYTHING. There have been countless things over the past few years where God has asked me to let go of things such as relationships, friendships, dreams, material stuff, etc.  Each time He tells me to let it go there's generally a battle between us and then gradually I surrender control over to Him.  Often it's a draining process for me, because I fight God every step of the way, drag my feet and hold on to the corner of the thing until I just give up and surrender it. This normally occurs after a few "angry words" and A LOT of tears. One thing I have learnt through this traumatic process is that life is so much better when we just let go of the things we hold onto and let God have them. 

So why does God want us to let go of things?

Idols

MOST of the time we need to let go of something because we've turned it into an idol. It's become something or someone who is more important to us than God. We become totally fixated on that thing, person or relationship and care more about it, or opinion etc. of the person than God and what He thinks.  We somehow get so wrapped up in the thing, that we forget God in a way. 

In Leviticus in the bible, God says that we shouldn't have idols. It also tells us that God is a jealous God. He doesn't want us to worship anything or anyone other than him. When we make something or someone more important than Him, that's what we do.

When we create an idol, God often shakes it and asks us to let it go.

Control

God wants to be in control and He wants the glory for something. When we hold onto control and try to control the outcome, often it goes pear shaped and not how God wants it turn out.

God often tells us to let go of control so that He can work in the situation and do what he wants to do.

my musings...

People often say that hind sight is 20:20, or whatever the expression is and it's so true.  When I've let go of the idol or surrendered control over to God things often improve.  I've also discovered that it allows God to work and turn that situation out for our good. I've also learnt that letting go of friendships or relationships doesn't always mean it's over and you can't be their friend, it just means that God wants to do something new and different - often making the friendship/relationship stronger and way better.  I've also learnt from letting go that God does really have something better in store for you, something cooler, more awesome and greater than you can possibly imagine or comprehend.

I think I can honestly say that letting go of what God tells you to let go of is generally the best option.

xKx