Saturday, April 8, 2017

Stranded - Part 1


Genesis 32:9-11 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:  I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.  Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in his Sermon series based upon the book of genesis by stating an old axiom: “Do the hard things first”. When you get the tougher items done, then the rest is easier. If you put something off, it is still there the next day. Another thing is that after you get the large and difficult parts completed, you feel better. This maxim holds true for relationships too. There are conversations that we just need to have. The ultimate truism is that when Father God tells us what to do, we do not delay our obedience. When we wrestling with God, we with lose in the long run and will leave us with a limp. Don’t strain; welcome the Lord’s direction and guidance.

Deuteronomy 13:4 “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” 


Pastor Kyle gave us six things to do before re-entering a strained relationship. (1) Don’t avoid it. Avoiding would not allow proactive healing. It is best to change your meeting to a peaceful environment. (2) Plan as if God will prosper the encounter. Be personally prepared to handle the situation. Be on solid ground … in a “good” place emotionally. (3) Keep a Plan “B”, & Plan “C”, & Plan “D” in mind, just in case. God does not always respond in the way that we think that it should. The encounter may not unfold our way, so we need to stretch ourselves by thinking of multiple scenarios. (4) Pray. Fancy words don’t help. God knows our heart, so let’s get to business with Him. People of God pray every day in every way. Do not allow busyness and distractions hinder our prayer life ever. (5) Prayerfully consider putting a thoughtful gift together. Bless someone else from God. Heartfelt gifts tend to calm a raging disposition by setting a caring atmosphere. Softening tension goes a long way. (6) Get alone and duke it out with God, so you don’t duke it out with the other person. Proverbs 16:7 says: “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Get alone, where distractions are all out of the way. Don’t get out of your struggle for God’s blessing until you receive that blessing and get all of your emotions out. When in spiritual fights with the Lord, hold on and do not “tap out”. Our willingness to “give in” leaves a mark.

Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message on “strained relationships” on the next post.

In Christ, Brian

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