Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

So my New Year prayers started out with me telling God what to do. I only half jest.  As I prayed on my knees, pouring out my heart to Him, I wasn’t finding peace. I was feeling more turmoil than peace. Until... I finally blurted out, "Lord, I give You carte blanche with my life."  Then, sweet release. His beautiful peace filled my soul. It seems counterintuitive to how we are wired in the natural.  We all want some semblance of control over our lives.  But when you belong to the Lord, He leaves some things seemingly unresolved in your life.  I don't know all the reasons why He does this.  I only know that all He does is done in love.  Great love.  Everlasting love.  Holy love.  Righteous love.  Problem with us is that we've been sold a bill of goods as to what real love is.  So when God, in His perfect love, allows certain trials to linger in our lives, our rational, worldly, fleshly minds cannot understand why He would allow such seemingly harmful things to continue

Our power and strength have limits.  Our strength is no match for an Omnipotent God.  So why do we continue on as if we have it all together?   God brings us to situations where we realize our utter dependence on Him.  Not to humiliate us, but to strengthen us! Once we realize just how weak we are - powerless to change certain parameters of our lives - that is when, if we have any sense at all, we turn to Christ for help. They say there are no atheists in a nose-diving plane! But we don't even have to wait for such a dire circumstance to come to our senses.  We can choose Christ here and now. The apostle Paul was a brilliant man.  Yet once he met Christ, he was forever "ruined," if you will, to ever believe in himself to any extent again. That's what happens when we encounter the living God for ourselves.  We are undone. Who can stand against Omnipotence?  No one! So what does this type of all out surrender look like?  Well, in Paul's life, he became an unstoppabl

If you are reading further than the title, I'm guessing you found yourself in one or more of the title words. Maybe you are looking for a way out of these traps. Join the club! Whether we do these things "on purpose" or they are simply part of our fallen nature, whether we have formed bad habits in any of these areas, or whether we don't even realize we are doing it - we are only harming ourselves in the process. No one - and I repeat - no one is 100% happy with themselves.  And if they are, then their major issue is narcissism and conceit.   So on some level, we are all prone to comparing ourselves with others, competing with others, or complaining about, well, just about anything or anyone. Wait for it, I am getting to the good part! There is hope!  The only way I know to combat these dirty demons is by focusing on Christ instead of others or self.   We are unable to compare or compete with Christ - He is Lord!  And this is a wonderful thing.  For He is truly the on