Day 7 – Let Go & Let God

How can we focus more on Christ?

Joshua 1:9 NLT

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Proverbs 19:21 NLT

You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.

Proverbs 3:7 NLT

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

Let Go and Let God take the captain’s chair in our lives! Let’s follow His direction, instead of making decisions on our own.

I am not sure I can put to words my experience with giving up control and letting God lead the way. Let me first remind us that everything I share, I still struggle with every day. I am not perfect and strive to do better each day.

See prior to 2020, I was a Type A personality, planner, and perfectionist. (I now like to call myself a recovering perfectionist.)

I enjoyed (put pressure on myself) planning parties and making sure each detail was perfect and over the top. The house had to be cleaned right before the party. Friends would ask to help or bring things, but oh no, I wasn’t about letting anyone help. It had to be about what I could do.

I wanted to control all aspects of my life. If I could control things, then life would be perfect, right?

I had it all wrong. It took many years for me to realize I was never in control. It took reading the Bible, praying, and going to church for me to finally see the truth.

See, turns out, God created us. God has a plan for us. God is with us every step along our life. God controls all things. He is in control of the bad stuff too. If he allows me to go through bad stuff, he is going to get me through it.

Even though I had read it many times, I finally started to believe it. Let me tell you about the weight that came off my shoulders when I finally realized that life is about God, not about me. The pressure of having to perform or be perfect was gone. Freedom was mine.

My quality of life is so much better. I have so much peace. I don’t have to strive for anything. I have God in all things no matter how big or how small.

Join me this month in seeing the bigger picture. Let go of the expectations and stress you put on yourself. Whatever is on your mind or the challenges you face, go to God. Read the Bible and listen for the answers. Get on your knees and seek His face. Get up on Sunday morning and hear the word in church. God is so good, and He is waiting for us to give Him every piece of our worries, struggles, and strivings. Thank you, Jesus!

I wrote a little about this in 2020 when I experienced this revelation. You can read more about it here, https://www.nataliebonkowski.com/post/2020-reflection-2021-word-of-the-year.

Day 6 – Thank Him

How can we focus more on Christ?

We’ve read about the studies done by researchers and universities about thankfulness. A person with a thankful heart will sleep better at night, tends to live life in a better mood, and is healthier and has less inflammation in their bodies. The quality of life is just better for someone with a thankful heart.

That makes perfect sense since the Bible teaches us about having a thankful heart.

Psalm 100:4-5

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

How can we grow a thankful heart?

*Keep a gratitude journal, write every day, and reflect on the things written. Count those blessings, no matter how small.

*Thank God all the time. Let’s start saying “Thank you, Jesus” randomly throughout the day. Even when things get bad. Just say the words, “Thank you, Jesus.”

*Just ask God for a thankful heart. It’s that simple.

Ezekiel 36:26

And I will give you a new heart,

and I will put a new spirit in you.

I will take out your stony, stubborn heart

and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Thank you, Jesus!

Day 5 - Have Faith

How can we focus more on Christ?

Google’s definition of faith is to have complete trust or confidence in someone or something, a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

God’s definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

The word “faith” appears 336 times in the King James Version Bible.

Faith is not a prayer, but an additional step of obedience that typically grows from being in prayer.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Faith is another way to Focus on God!

Faith can be hard. We are required to trust the thing we can’t see, give up control of our lives, and continue to live life without knowing the outcome of the days ahead.

Another quick google search shows the opposite of faith to be disobedience, fear, doubt, disbelief, and atheism.

There is so much freedom to be found in life once we have complete faith in Jesus. That faith gives our minds the peace we need to live free from worry and all the negative things that happen to our bodies when we stress and worry.

I was thinking and researching all the ways to have stronger faith. The posts I am sharing during this 31 Day - Focus on Christ are the ways to have strong faith. Let’s stay on this journey of drawing closer to Him and focusing on Him each day.