What Am I Missing
What Am I Missing?
Sometimes… things just do not make sense. Somedays… we simply cannot understand why we are in this place. We desperately want it make sense. If we could just figure it out, things would be better. We whisper, “What am I missing?”
We struggle with our insecurities. We see the gifts and talents others have. We allow their accomplishments to make us feel less than. We doubt our abilities and our potential. We long for more, but do not believe we could ever have it. We question, “What am I missing?”
We hear others talk about Jesus and God as if they are close family friends. It seems weird and a little hard to believe. Some share what God has shown them or how Jesus revealed Himself to them and we just do not get it. We read our Bible and wonder, “What am I missing?”
We are missing peace. We are missing joy. We are missing assurance.
PEACE…
We want to strike a deal, write out a contract, do a little negotiating. It might sound like this, Okay, Jesus. I am going to live for you, but here is what I want in return. I want a guarantee that all my days will be easy – no tribulation, please. I want us to be best friends and I need my blessings to be BIG! I will tell people about You - so, I need you to rain down that peace that passes all understanding.
Sorry, that’s not how it works. We are sure to experience hard days. When we whisper, “what am I missing”, we are missing the peace that can only come from a true relationship with Jesus. The only way we can have that is to spend time with Him. The more we come to know who He is – the more and more we will experience His peace. He has proven that He is faithful, but we must prove that we are. Does our faith in Him stand the test of hard days? When we find ourselves here - do we call on our friends, our family, our Facebook community or do we fall on our knees?
There is no need to tell Jesus what we are experiencing. He already knows. Instead, what if we held out our trouble, offered it up to Him and then left if there with the confidence that no matter what happens, He has us?
Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
JOY…
Our insecurities and constant comparison to others rob us of joy. Why do we allow this? Because we have a true adversary. The last thing Satan wants is for us to experience true joy that can only come from our relationship with Jesus. You see by whispering our insecurities in our ear, reminding us we do not measure up to others, and distracting us, he wins.
As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we learn that life is not about us. It is all about Him. We recognize that we do not have to do anything on our own. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. (Philippians 4:13) We can break free of the comparison trap because we have unique gifts that God wants to use for His glory – not ours. We can rest in Him and let go of those silly things that hold us back. How do we do that? We do as Philippians 4:8 instructs and meditate on what is good and pure instead of conforming and listening to Satan’s lies.
Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that is produced by God doing a great work within us. It is produced by our growing relationship with Jesus. More of Him, less of me is the recipe for who I am called to be. When applied, joy is ours.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
ASSURANCE…
We want assurance. We want to experience Jesus in an intimate way. But…that seems so foreign. Can I tell you something? You can have this. You can have blessed assurance that Jesus is yours. You can experience Him in a way you never imagined. All you have to do is give up your way, surrender your all, and submit to Him.
Philippians 4:19 tells us, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Jesus is all we need. God sent His only son so that we could have relationship with Him. He gave His life for ours. He is enough to see us through hard days. He is enough to cover our shortcomings. He is enough to assure our salvation and eternity in Heaven.
He tells us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
So this peace, this joy and this assurance can be ours. We can begin today by acknowledging that we are weak and we need Him. We can acknowledge that He is enough no matter what. We can live everyday in His strength knowing that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Oh how sweet that is!