Is God Fighting My Battles?

I like to control things.  

There, I said it.

It’s a confession that I am not proud of.

So when I face difficult times, naturally I try to figure it out and resolve it myself.  Unfortunately, I don’t always have the solution.  I do not have the control l would like to think I have.

Having faith in God is hard.  It means you have to let go.  The battles we face aren’t ones we can fight on our own.  It’s hard to give up the control and let God fight our battles for us.

God is in control whether we believe it or not.  He’s God.  We are not. I would like to have the faith of David when he was standing in the Valley of Elah facing a giant named Goliath.  Although David had picked five stones he only needed one to take out the giant in his battle.  We all need the courage of David in the moments we are facing the battles that challenge us.

We have to be all in if we are trusting in God to fight for us even if the results aren’t what we were expecting.   I have no cute quotes or feel-good cliches to give you on this.  You either trust God in your battles or you don’t.  If you are on the Lord’s side then be on it and trust that his strategy is the right one.

I write this for you but I can tell you that this isn’t easy.  Trusting God is hard and takes every ounce of you.  It’s hard to let go.  Until you are in a battle, you truly don’t know.  As smart as we all think we are, none of us truly knows what is ahead for us.  We don’t know what will test us or the battle we will face.  We can’t prepare for the battle we don’t know but we can put our trust in the one who will fight for us.

If we put our trust in God, He can help us to stay calm and not panic.  He goes ahead of us to open doors, move obstacles and arrange solutions we do not see yet.  Sometimes if He doesn’t remove the battle, He will give us the strength to endure it.  

Thoughts About Trusting God During the Rough Times

There are times we never saw coming. We never truly know what is ahead in our lives.

I have always trusted in God to keep me and He has so far. It is not an easy trust sometimes.

We all go through things. That’s life. We can’t get mad about who’s helping or not helping us. We still have to get through the rough parts.

There are times I am strong in my faith and there have been times I doubted if I ever had any faith at all. That’s why they are called trials and tests. We don’t truly know how strong our faith is until it is tested.

Mine has been tested. I can’t say that I have gotten an "A" on this test. I just hope I will pass.

Some may think I’m silly for trusting in God but that’s all I’ve ever known. I know people don’t believe in God. I know the strong feelings people have about Christians and religion. I can’t control what others think. I know who I am and my own experience.

I often listen to the song “Remember to Remember” by Stephen Curtis Chapman and this verse:

And now I'm looking out at the road that's waiting
But my eyes can only see so far out ahead of me
As sure as the sun will shine there'll be more mountains I will climb
And more deep dark shadowlands where desperate faith is all I have
Until I'm home, I'm resting all my hope and trust
In the only One whose name is: God with us

God never promised it would be easy.  I know some Christians who have nearly lost their minds when they have a flat tire thinking something like that shouldn't happen to them.  Life hits us all in some way.  We don't always expect and there are no guarantees that things won't get rough.  We do the best we can and trust God. 

Life can be rough, and sometimes it feels like everything is falling apart. Maybe you’re facing loss, uncertainty, or a problem that just won’t go away. In those moments, it’s easy to feel scared, overwhelmed, and unsure of what to do next. But you don’t have to carry that burden alone—God is with you, even when things feel out of control.

The truth is, trusting God in difficult situations isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about believing He is still in control, even when life doesn’t make sense.

Hard times don’t last forever, but God’s love does. When life feels overwhelming, take one step at a time. Pray, even if all you can say is, “Lord, help me.” Surround yourself with people who will lift you up. Read His Word and let His promises remind you that He is working behind the scenes. You may not see the full picture now, but one day, you’ll look back and understand how God was guiding you through it all.

Thoughts About Driving In NYC

I finally did it today.  For the first time since we have moved here, I drove into Manhattan.  

It was actually better than I had expected but I was also blessed to have lesser traffic than usual.

Since March, we have been going into the city three times a week for appointments.  With the subway not being a good option, we have been using ride shares such as Lyft and Uber for our trips to/from the city.  Unfortunately, the ride shares had pushed us to our limit with how absolutely ridiculous they drive without regard to health issues.  I have had to fuss at too many drivers lately.  When the ride is more stressful than the actual appointment, something is very wrong.  

So, as the last resort, I decided to drive today.  We have been taking the same route for months so I knew what to expect (usually expect the unexpected) so I took the leap to get behind the wheel and drove into the city.  I have past driving experiences in Puerto Rico, Panama, Atlanta and Nashville but nothing quite compares to New York City.  There are a lot of vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles and other obstacles in tight spaces.  

After a dreadful ride share experience on Tuesday, I starting getting myself mental prepared for driving into the city.  I was finally tired of the stress of depending on a "professional" driver to drive us.  I waited up until we had to leave this morning to go through with it.  

The drive was the most stress-free ride we've had.  I do drive rather cautiously and I am in no way a great driver but I drove at the pace we needed and completed the task.  Crystal did a great job of navigating.  When you drive here, you seriously need as many extra "eyes" as you can to get around.  She navigated me perfectly.

This is more than just tooting my own horn (no pun intended) but a very sad commentary on a majority of the Lyft and Uber drivers we have experienced. We have paid way too much for each ride for most of them being crappy rides and dealing with drivers who are unable to understand or sympathize with our requests for a calm ride.  The ride share services fail at helping those who need something special for their ride experiences.  We never asked for a celebrity chauffeur treatment, just someone that wouldn't drive like a crazy taxi driver in NYC!  I have a long list of drivers I have blocked from accepting our requests.  That is pathetic.  

Will I continue driving into the city?  Probably.  Let's just enjoy today's experience.  We can't assume that it will always be like it was today.  

For today - at least - I can say that I drove in Manhattan.