Under His Control - Joyce Kiefer

What a privilege to once again be able to give you ladies what the Lord has laid on my heart for

you. How many of you would agree that we are living in an uncertain time right now? How

many of us have felt afraid in the past year? We don’t have to live in fear because the One that

created the Universe is the One that is with us every step of the way. I know in my heart that the

Lord has everything under His Control, but yet, there are times that I have been fearful of what

may happen in the future. Did you see what I said? I said I am fearful about what MAY happen.

I don’t know if it will happen or not. I am just presupposing that it might. We don’t need to be

fearful about something that may not even happen. This can lead to negativity in our lives. God

doesn’t want us to be negative but positive in our Christian lives. I want to share some verses

with you to show you that when we tend to think negative, Gods tells us to think positive.

There are some verses that will help us when we say that we are afraid, God tells us to not be

afraid. John 14:27 says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world

giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. We aren’t

supposed to let the world give us their idea of peace, (because believe me, they don’t even begin

to comprehend what peace is), but instead have the peace that God gives us. Look at the last

sentence in that verse. I t says to not let our heart be trouble, neither let it be afraid. We don’t

need to be afraid, God gave us peace.

Let’s look at Joshua 1:9. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not

afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Do you see that ladies? We are supposed to have a good courage and NOT be afraid. Why?

Because the Lord thy God is with us!! And, He is with us wherever we go. I know that when we

are on the mountain top our God is with us. But, on the other hand, when we are in the valley,

He is also with us.

It’s easy to be afraid when things aren’t going the way we want them to go, but God is wherever

we are. Don’t let circumstances get in your way of trusting the Lord, but rather allow your

circumstances to be a way for you to trust the Lord. I’m sure some of you are thinking, “But,

you don’t know what I am going through” and you are right...I don’t; but, God does!! We don’t

need to be afraid of what is going on in our life; we just need to trust in God.

A verse I taught our daughter, Amy, when she was 5 years old and afraid of something, was

Psalm 56:3. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. God doesn’t want us to be afraid, but

instead we are to trust in Him. I know, easier said than done!! We are human (and to top that

off, we are women), so we tend to let our emotions get the better of us at times. We need to do

what God tells us to do, and that is trust in Him. You see, that verse doesn’t say for us to try

and trust in Him, it says I WILL trust in Him.

Let’s go on to another negative thought that we sometimes have and that is saying, “It’s

impossible!” God says in Luke 18:27, And he said, The things which are impossible with men

are possible with God. When we think that something is impossible, it is possible but, is it

possible just with us? No, it is only possible with God! I’m concerned that a lot of times we

don’t let God do what He wants to do and is supposed to do. We want to do things on our own

and not let God be the One that leads the way. God can do the impossible if we let Him do the

impossible. You see, the impossible isn’t impossible with God, but it’s possible! Let God be God

and let Him lead.

How about this one? “I can’t go on.” II Corinthians 12:9 says, And he said unto me, My grace is

sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I

rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We can go on

because His grace is sufficient. Not our grace, but His. When troubles come our way (and they

will) we can be assured that the power of Christ is going to rest upon us and He will give us

strength to go on. Is any of this for our glory? No, it is not, it is for His Glory! It’s all about Him,

not about us!!

Let’s look at one more negativity, “I’m always worried and frustrated.” I Peter 5:7 says,

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. When you are worried about

________(you fill in the blank); when you are frustrated about _________ (you fill in the

blank), you need to take that care and cast it upon Jesus. Every time you have a care, don’t

keep it to yourself, give it to God. Why is it that we can trust God to keep our soul for

eternity, but, we have a hard time trusting Him for our cares day by day. Let’s trust Him for

everything, day in and day out.

Ladies, I have just scratched the surface with some negative things we have said to ourselves.

Next time you say or think something negative, stop and search the Bible to find the positive

answer for it. There is way too much negativity in the world today and we as Christian need to

find the positive answer for that negativity. We can do it through God’s power and God’s help.

I want to leave you with one more verse. II Timothy 1:7, For God hath not given us the spirit

of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. God isn’t the one who gave us the

spirit of fear, so, let’s make sure we don’t let Satan have the victory over this in our lives.

God, please help us to live in victory and not defeat!!