so, the euphoria of Sunday has worn off. what? you say. you're not holding to what you said earlier. oh, i am. i still believe that God is working on me. and i thank god that he's shown me those areas i need help in. and by the grace of god i mean (and am) measuring up in them. but with all revelations that come from god there are spirits who want to oppose my growing deeper in the things of God. things that want to hold on to my feelings and my hurts. b/c we all agree that our hurts and feelings feel valid. on my way to work, i was grappling with this. i've been reading the book "bible humility" by j.w. byers. and in reading it, it reaffirmed so much of sundays service. i quote, "but, what is to be made low and trampled upon and placed under the mighty hand of God is our individual soul, life, including body and all (and i add, feelings)." but, then to humble oneself and still try to hang onto oneself. it doesn't work. one or the other has to go. and so on my drive in, i grappled with which one. do i let these things linger on, or do i just submit them and do what i need to do for MY soul? i came to the conclusion that i just have to STOP. stop thinking, stop trying to figure it out, or reason it out. stop trying to justify. and just do what i have to do. no one else. do your part. then, i got to work and this devotional was waiting for me (i've only included a portion of it). i think it answered my question. It's taken from Crosswalk.com's "Girlfriends in God" and written by Mary Southerland.
Look for God in circumstances.
God is constantly at work in our lives preparing us to do what He created us to do. A.B. Simpson says: "God is preparing His heroes. And when the opportunity comes, He can fit them into their place in a moment. And the world will wonder where they came from." When we understand that God integrates every circumstance to accomplish His will, it is easy to trust Him. Even when we do not understand, even when we can't explain it, even when it doesn't make sense or seems wrong, we can choose to trust Him. It is easy to trust Him when the seas are calm and the skies are clear! But the strength of our faith is measured in the midst of a storm!
A crisis always reveals what is really inside! Letting go means that we trust God enough to obey Him. Trust is demonstrated by obedience. What I do reveals what I believe about God, regardless of what I say! God will not waste direction on a disobedient heart. The more we obey the more we will trust. The more we trust, the more we will obey. God reveals His plans to an obedient heart. When we trust God enough to let go, we will find that He is Lord of our circumstances.
2. Look for God in people.
Proverbs 27: 17 "As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other". In this verse, "each other" literally means: companion or friend; neighbor or associate. In other words, God uses every relationship to improve us and to accomplish His will for our lives. People come into our lives for eternal reasons. Relationships are mirrors! In them, we see reflections of ourselves! Relationships expose the weaknesses we try so hard to bury! Relationships teach us important lessons like forgiveness, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. Many times, God builds His qualities in us by allowing certain people to come into our lives. He calls it "Iron sharpening iron".
If we need to learn patience, He brings irritating people into our lives. If we need to learn to love, He will bring the unlovable! God takes those people we call "difficult" and uses them as pruning tools, tools of molding and refining. If we fail to learn from one, He will send another! Even if we do learn from one, He will send another to teach us a different lesson.
Relationships are compasses. Proverbs 15:22 "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." (NIV) God brings all kinds of people into our lives to teach us, encourage us and guide us.
And then later on in the devotional it states,
Strength that comes through pain can be gained no other way. His presence always changes everything.
1 Kings 18:37 "LORD, answer my prayer so these people will know that you, LORD, are God and that you will change their minds." (NCV)
What we call "dis-appointment" is really "His appointment". While God uses our mistakes as a test, He does not waste a single experience. There are no "scraps" of life to be thrown away!
continue to pray for me. i want to continue to rejoice with where i am right now. i think the main part of it is completely trusting God and letting him use everything around me to mold me into what he wants me to be
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2 comments:
And one of the hardest parts for us to accept is that: God is NOT in a hurry.
Remember Moses. He found out God wanted to use him early on in life but he was 80 before God did. (I think that's right.)
It's encouraging to read your thoughts because I know they are headed the direction I am going. We can get some good thoughts from reading others, but they tend to kill the good before they get done because they have to end it with, "But we know we can never be perfect," or "Of course, we are going to sin; we all sin." The challenge is SO MUCH GREATER when we know that we must walk in the light God is giving us so that we can be perfect in His eyes and we do keep ourselves from sin.
You're on track, sister. Just keep on seeking God's help with your whole heart. You'll be amazed at what He does for you.
thanks, your comments have been a blessing as well. :)
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