I Was Made for More.  By Christina Cannon.

As many of you know, I live with some physical challenges.  Some days are very difficult, and leading up to Sunday was challenging.  I knew it was coming.  As I lay in bed, the thought of not getting up and getting ready for church was on my mind. But, because I had been in this position before, I knew to fight.

It is what we know to do and Who we know to abide in, that preserves and helps us to navigate and overcome these kinds of days.

Romans 8:5-8 MSG

“Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.”

As I lay in bed, I had a conversation with God and myself.  I knew to move forward.  I did just that.  I’m going to keep this message real.  I knew I needed to shed some tears, which I did in my spot.  Yes, I have a spot.  I cried; I needed to release my heartache.  I tend to get sad when I feel yucky.  I let it out and proceeded to do what I knew to do.  I got ready for church.  It was Sunday, after all.  I’m so glad I went to church.  It was what I needed.  Worship and the message were medicine to my soul.

Transparency in life is essential if you choose to allow God to use your struggles and your story.

I struggle with fatigue daily, and malaise hits me every so often.  Last week was a struggle.  I’m not sharing this with you to get sympathy.  I am sharing this with you to let you know what I have learned amidst the daily struggle.  I hope that by sharing my struggle, you will be encouraged to do what is good for you, even when you do not feel like it.

It’s what we know to be true that will get us through the difficult and challenging times.

I have learned that God is my strength.

Ps 73:26 ESV

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”

I have learned to press through it because it is a moment in time; God will sustain me.

Romans 5:3-4 ESV

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope”

I have learned to choose what is good for me.

John 15:5 ESV

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

I have had to wrestle with the reality that even if God doesn’t heal me, I will still pursue His purpose.  It was in the wrestling that I had to decide that I would not allow my health to hinder what God has called me to.

I have also learned that God will give me the strength to do what He asks of me in each moment. He is my strength!

Phil 4:13 ESV

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Knowing and abiding in the truth keeps you moving forward and grows your faith.

Not everyone wants to know Jesus intimately. They are content to just know about Him.  Others keep Him at an arm’s distance, letting Jesus in only a little, not too much, where He can get at the pain and heal your heart.  I hope you are one who desires to know Him deeply.  He yearns to have an intimate relationship with you.

Knowing the One that gives you life is essential to your growth in faith and the health of your soul. Other healthy relationships are good, and we need them.  But they are not a substitute for a relationship with God our Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

John 10:10b ESV

“No I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Developing a relationship with your Savior is the most important relationship to cultivate. It is this relationship that preserves you when life gets hard. Your relationship with God is crucial to sustaining you through heartache and trials. He will give you the strength and peace you need.

Isaiah 40:29 ESV

“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.”

Psalm 29:11 ESV

“May the Lord give strength to His people! May the Lord bless His people with peace!”

Knowing God requires spending time in His word and sitting with Him in prayer.  Listening and sharing your heart with Him is what He desires.  He wants to hear from each one of us.

We must learn to abide.  Abiding in Him is the only way to maintain peace in every difficult circumstance.

Psalms 91:4 ESV

“He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”

John 15:4-5 ESV

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Knowing God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and our counselor Holy Spirit equips us with how we are to live our lives.

Gal 5:22-26 MSG

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”

It is what we know to do and Who we know to abide in, that preserves and helps us to have victory in this life!

This song is one that was on my mind every time I woke up throughout the night. God wants someone to hear it.