A Secret for Survival and Success

I remember the first time I heard it said.

It was a season in my life when I felt overwhelmed. I didn't want to get out of bed. Everything I did took more energy than I had. I just wanted to quit. That's when an elderly man in our church told me his secret of survival. "Sarah, you don't have to be responsible for doing everything just the next right thing."

I think that's what faith looks like. You chose to do the next right thing not because that's what you feel like doing but because you are trusting something outside yourself. I think that's what humility looks like too. In 1 Peter 5 it says to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God by casting all your anxieties on him. Pride can cause me to be paralyzed feeling the weight of the world crushing me. When I humble myself and cast my anxieties on God then I am free to simply do the next right thing and leave everything else to God.

I've heard that one of the reasons a lion roars at his prey is because it terrifies them and causes them to not be able to run away. 1 Peter 5 tells us that our adversary is like a roaring lion,seeking someone to devour but we are told to resist him firm in our faith. Faith isn't simply what I believe it's how I act because of what I believe. Because I believe God is in control I can do the next right thing and leave the outcome to him.

Sometimes the reason I have trouble functioning is because I'm suffering. I'm suffering emotionally. I'm suffering because of choices I've made or the choices someone else has made. In times like this I choose again to do the next right thing because I believe God has called me in Christ to something beyond what I am experiencing right now.

Lord Jesus, you never promised a life without trouble. What you did promise was that you would restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me. Because I trust you I will continue to do the next right thing.