Ebb and Flow...

July 6, 2009

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8.

Humans generally do not like change. In our society people get depressed at the thought of what to watch on television during the Summer after their favorite show’s season finale. Even holidays get involved in our resistance to change. For example, New Years Day depresses many people who have become comfortable in the holiday season ranging from Halloween through Christmas. Most people will tell you change makes them uneasy.

Dependability, comfort, stability, and familiar surroundings are all great things. We feel firmly planted, assured of what to expect next. Ironically, as humans we seek more and more, whether relationships or things, even though our desire to increase brings about change. Additionally, with each increase there is a potential for decrease, and what counts at that moment is how you handle the transition. Sometimes we gain only to lose, and we must remember that the ebb draws in and the flow pours out, but the water remains the constant in both.

God created every thing and person in the universe. As the Creator of the human mind, He wired us to feel uncomfortable when we depend on things or people that can let us down. Knowing that an increase not secure in its stability could bring about instability, and a possibility of sin, He trained each of us to accept change that is good with strength to go the distance, but also to dislike change that will bring us harm. When we feel out of our element or as if we have lost control of a situation, warning signals arise within us. Our desire for increase cost us control, and we fear decrease if we cannot manage the situation.

Those of us who have put all of our trust in people time and again only to suffer horrible consequences have spent a great deal of time blaming other people. What we cannot see is that it is our own wiring that is causing us to feel uncomfortable to the point of anger. God never intended for us to trust each other more than we trust Him. Put simply, we should have never increased on our own without placing the increase in His hands, along with the possibility for decrease. The idea was not part of a master plan to cause discomfort and pain, but rather because as the magnificent programmer of the mind, God knew that humans are prone to sin and will continually let each other down, and the world around us will too.

As it is with many of life’s downfalls, God gives us an out. We have Him, the Creator of dependability and stability and a promise that He will never change. With the Creator of everything good, who only gives us His best and nothing less, God made sure that we had the ability to learn that He is the One and only One that we can trust. “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9.

No man can give us the good things that God gives us no matter how much we trust in them. Regardless of all your efforts, anything worldly can be lost in an instant. It is an idea of love and protection to guard His children’s hearts. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17.

When we learn to put Him before our relationships and our situations, our increases and decreases, and trust Him to guide us and handle each one for us, we have a guarantee of success. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17. That does not mean that we can do whatever we like on our own and burden ourselves with someone or something that we know is not good for us. Instead, it means if we are truly putting God first, and trusting Him with each part of our life and future, that His guidance will warn us not to engage in any relationship or behavior that can harm us. Remember, when you give Him everything in your life, His best is what you get.

For those of us who do put God first, knowing that He has guided us into a wonderful relationship or circumstance, some of us will still suffer some type of tragic event such as a death or horrible injury. Here is where you trusted Him with the increase, but you decreased anyway. The decrease does not mean that something in His name is not holding together. We have to remember that He sees our life as a fraction of our existence and He can see all of eternity. Success will be there, you just cannot see it.

The next step is to trust Him with the decrease. This is where we have to remember that giving God your all means giving Him the horrible tragedy too, and trust that He knows what He is doing. He can see the moment in His mind where you will meet up with that loved one in Heaven one day and have a reunion so full of love and holiness that we cannot imagine, but will last forever. He knows that the horrible injury will be used to save hundreds of people and bring them to Him through your testimony about His comfort during your time of trouble. He knows how horrible Hell is and how each soul that goes there is lost forever.

Remembering these points is easier said than done, understandably, and He knows as much. And when we grieve, He is grieving with us knowing that He cannot tell us yet about the glorious reunion or all the saved souls. That is when we look upward and know that through our grief He is with us, and with our loss He will redeem us. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10.

Relying on God even when you have been let down by another person or suffered a tragic event, means you are completely trusting Him with the increase and decrease. Whether you made a mistake in not trusting Him before and ended up in a broken relationship or whether you have suffered a loss even in a Godly relationship, He will restore you with His strength. Although He cannot tell you all that He knows to comfort you, remember again His best is what you will get. God is speaking to you through actions, not just comforting words. His purpose will prevail, and when you are trusting in Him even in the bad, it will ultimately be for your benefit. “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Reading about people in the Bible who suffered tragic circumstances and still remained faithful while praising God for their downfalls may sound extreme, but that is God’s way of telling you that you can rest assured in His strength and His victory. Moreover, He is showing you the danger of relying on others to provide you with either. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6.

When facing the ebb or decrease, we should remember that one decrease in our lives that we trust Him to handle will result in a flow that we cannot imagine. Your trust pushes that wave further back into the sea, and He will return a flow of abundance and peace in your soul that is beyond any worldly description. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2.

Never doubt His ability to handle any force in your life whether it is an increase or decrease. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:5-8.

Rather than allow yourself to feel like the wave that is being drawn back and forth, concentrate on Him. If you do, you will realize that the water is the constant in the ebb and the flow. However, the stability is not just in knowing the water is the constant, but in knowing that with the ebb comes the flow, and whether it is the increase or decrease occurring, and no matter how strong the pull, remember the real truth.

God can handle either.