Our own strength...not enough

Over the journey...there have been countless times where I have had to tell myself "Stop! You cant do this alone...you cant do this by your own strengh...you can only do it with God!"

And despite the fact that when I do lay it all before God with faith that He will guide me in the right direction, I continue to try and do things by my own strength.

Sometimes I wonder why I continually make this mistake. I know that when I reflect on my life, looking at the challenges I have faced and the amazing things that God has done in my life. There are so many occasions where I have felt things are totally hopeless...but somehow God has delivered me through!

So I guess what Im getting at is the simple fact that we need to constantly immerse ourselves in scripture that will remind of the awesome promises we have in Christ when we give our lives for Him! As it says in Psalm 16:11

You have made known to me the path of life;
       you will fill me with joy in your presence,
       with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

We need to continually dwell in His presence, acknowledging that He is always with us. In this way we will be filled with joy and a confidence that no matter what we face we have an awesome God besides us.

Too many times we immerse ourselves in the things of this world, the things that are temporary, unreliable...and when the times get tough...these things fail us. But God never fails us, as it says in one of my most favorite pieces of scripture in Hebrews 13:5 -

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
   "Never will I leave you;
      never will I forsake you."

I guess the reason Im writing all this is because lately I have felt like I have battling to swim upstream in my circumstances...trying to do it by my own strength and getting frustrated as to why I was not getting anywhere. But its times like this I must give it all to God and remember the simple verse that is Luke 1:37 - 

For nothing is impossible with God.

So simple, but so true. Things are impossible for us to achieve, but nothing is impossible with our amazing Father in heaven. We must continually put our faith in Him in all situations and praise him for he is worthy!

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. (John 15:9-10)