Putting your troubles on hold.

For most, today is the start of the weekend. The weekend is a time to get away from the pressures of work and relax. Even if you have to work during the weekend, let me encourage you to spend as much time as possible in the next couple of days putting your troubles on hold and focusing instead on rest and relaxation. I am not trying to minimize the complex and difficult situations many of you are facing, but we MUST find pockets of time in our life to put the burdens down and simply rest.

You are much better equipped to handle life's problems when you are fresh and energized, than when you are tired and running on fumes. It is in those run down times when our problems look insurmountable and we are most apt to become depressed and lose hope. Even Jesus had to get away once in a while to recharge his physical body.

A time of rest does many things for you. It helps you to regain your physical strength. However, just as important, it allows you to regain your mental strength. Fighting day after day wears us down mentally and we get so focused on our problems that we lose sight of possible alternatives that may help us in our struggles. Getting worn down also causes us to lose perspective causing us to forget that God is still in control.

Most important though, a time of rest helps us to refocus on our personal relationship with the Lord. In the midst of our trials, we can miss out on that daily, intimate time with Him which just compounds our problems. That time of rest allows us to not only recharge our bodies and minds, but our relationship with the Lord.

Just hours before going to the cross, Jesus told His disciples that in this life they would have many trials. He did not want them to be deceived into thinking that just because they had walked with Him, they were immune from life's problems. But He promised them that He would always be with them. We are heirs to that promise as follower's of Christ. It is the Christ living in us that gives us the ability to live victorious lives.

Never lose sight that the Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors through Him. That means whatever you are facing today, whatever obstacles may be in your life, because of Jesus, you can overcome them and be victorious. So in these next few days while you rest, while you recharge, dwell not on your problems.....but on the fact that we have total victory in Jesus!

I love you and care about you. I pray that you will have a wonderful few days of rest and relaxation, that you will be able to spend quality time with family and friends, and that most important you will spend some quality time with the Lord.

He loves you, cares about you, and will make you adequate each day for the challenges that you face. Focus on living life in His strength and not your strength, and those burdens won't seem as heavy. Enjoy the weekend as you put your troubles on hold, and find that peace that passes all human understanding in Him.

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller

Via Liveprayer.com daily devotional, December 20, 2003

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