encouragement

Give Jesus your burdens or ride out your storm

There comes a time when everybody goes through the storms of life. Often they come when you least expect or when one is most vulnerable. And if one is not careful he or she could become so overwhelmed that you forgot Jesus could calm your storm.

Even so, being followers of Jesus Christ may not stop the tempest or the rolling billows. But you can rest assure Jesus can calm your storm. Still, sometimes your blessing comes at the end of the storm. And all you need to do is stay calm and ride it out. The late John Newton who knew a thing or two about storm and tempest wrote, “With Christ in the vessel I can smile at the storm.

Without a doubt, my fellow world citizen, if you got caught in the storm of life do not panic and do not despair. Just remember the following words spoken by Jesus. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” (Matthew 11:28-30).

How to minimise worldly distractions

Distraction from God is dangerous. As believers, we appoint Him captain of our ship. He does not steer, but He tells us where to go. Often we pushed Him aside and pretended to be in charge. And that is when things start to go wrong. Even if you know a shorter and better route, you should allow the captain to do His job. He knows best. The Bible says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths,” (Proverb 3:5-6).

In the game of baseball, Good Hand-Eye Coordination is one of the keys to success for any hitter. When he is at the plate, his focus must be on point. There is little room for distraction. One mistake and his career could be over.

Just as a baseball hitter avoids distraction at the plate. Christians must do likewise avoiding anything that is likely to distract them from God. Yes, we have weaknesses, and some people will argue that it ‘s hard to avoid distractions. But, even though we cannot always avoid them we are not obligated to succumb. Jesus showed us what to do when faced with tempting circumstances.

Matthew 4:1-11 states the following. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness where the devil tempted.

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards hungry.

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones turn to bread.

But Jesus answered and said, It is in the law, Man must not live by bread alone. But by every word that preceded out of the mouth of God.

Not satisfied, the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple,

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. For it was written, He will give his angels charge over thee. And in their hands, they will bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

But Jesus said to him, It is in the law, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Determined to distract Jesus, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain. And shew him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And the devil said to him, I will let you have all these things if you bows down and worship me.

Then Jesus said unto him, Get thee hence, Satan. For it is in the law, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.