Carol J German

Everyone would agree that life is hard. While some moments are easy, others bring on stress and frustrations that cause us to find solutions or relief from a variety of places. I like food. It comforts me. Others like smoking or drinking or shopping to comfort them. We look for relief of some kind.

Did you know that God understands our human tendencies? He isn’t one bit surprised that we run to all sorts of things to give us relief. He also understands that this world has been marred by sin, and sin destroyed harmony and unity between God and man. Since the infraction in the Garden, read Genesis 3, man is faced with trials of every kind. The main trial is our separation from God.

We have not been created by God to live separately from Him.

Thankfully, God loves us, even in our sins. He can’t bear the idea of being separated. So, He sent Jesus to save us from sin that keeps tripping us up each day. Jesus’ death and resurrection gave Satan, the originator of sin, the death blow. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God gives every believer who has confessed their sins and follows His Son, the wonderful Holy Spirit. He becomes your confidant. Never again are you alone to face each day on your own. You have the Helper who can lead you through any and all trials, storms, and frustrations. You don’t need to look elsewhere for help.

God knows what He is doing when He opens up the pathway for relief from the trials of earthly living. He makes it extremely simple. Follow three easy steps and you will feel like you are “walking on sunshine” (remembering the song by Katrina and the Waves).

Step One: Come to know that God is real. God the Father is the living God and He wants to make Himself real to you. Just ask Him; read Matthew 7:8-9. My husband saw God on the day our son was born. He knew that God was real when he became a father and held his son. I have read that the actor, Matthew Perry, who died over the weekend, spoke of calling out to God and He made Himself real to him in a dark time of his life. God the Father desires for every person to see and know Him.

Step Two: You must see the reality of who you are as a human being. You are a sinner. Every human being is one. There is no getting around it. You must face your sins. Then, believe Jesus Christ. Receive what He did for you. It is only through Christ do you gain access to God the Father; read 1 Timothy 2:5 and John 14:6. Jesus’ sacrifice eradicates all of your sins. He wipes them clean away and presents you to God the Father spotless and acquitted from all guilt and shame. Jesus gives you a new way to walk! It is now time to follow Him in all areas of your life.

(I emphasize you and your for a reason. You must see your sins only. Others’ sins are none of your business. You have to trust the Trinity that they are taking care of them. When you read the Bible, you must read like you are the only one reading it. God’s Word is that personal. It is His love letter to you. It’s helpful to add your name in the passages when you study the scriptures. An example, put your name in place of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.)

Step Three: This is the hardest of all three steps. This is where most people stop at walking with God. It is the crucial step, though, to your faith. It is what takes you all the way with God. So much so, that without it, you do not belong to God. Romans 8:9 says, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to God at all.)” You must be obedient to the Holy Spirit. He is the One who talks to you and helps you to pray to God the Father; read John 14:15-17. All your decisions and actions are now brought to the Spirit before you take the next step(s), and you let Him tell you what to do.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own, but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future.” (John 16:12)

No one can walk by faith apart from the Trinity. You must believe and receive all three persons. They are never independent from each another. They love and serve together. For your faith to matter, you have to believe all three persons and align yourself accordingly.

To help understand the why behind this truth, ponder this: If you think you can get to heaven by only believing God the Father or just the Father and the Son and not the Holy Spirit, then Satan and his demons will be heaven too. How? For they believe and know that the Trinity is real. Their demise is that they are disobedient to the Spirit; read James 2:19, Mark 1:23-25, Acts 19:15, Luke 8:27-31, to get you started on how the evil side knows truth but they have gone off to do their own thing. Jesus will be returning to put them in their place.

God has made the restoration path back to Him simple: believe God, follow Jesus, and obey the Spirit. “Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” (lyrics from Trust and Obey by hymnal.net) When you live in this manner, you will find sweet relief from the daily grind of earthly life. The Trinity will be beaming from ear-to-ear with your willingness to let them love on you and get you home.