Tag: trust

Breaking through

God created the way to enter into fellowship with Him.

God took the form of a man – Jesus – and took on all of sins of the world to pave the way, to make the path, to secure salvation for us.

He sees what we cannot see. He gives what we cannot give.

And He loves in ways we cannot comprehend.

This Jesus, our Jesus, took on the sin, pain, guilt, and shame. It is challenging enough for me to think about it in terms of my own sin.

But what about that one who hurt my loved one, did something vile to me or my family, has no remorse or regret, is blind to the consequences of their sin — and isn’t even convinced they have sinned?

Jesus died for all – even them.

Our sin is heavy, it can be debilitating, it can be suffocating. It is a burden.

Drag your burdens to the cross. Leave them there. Trust in God — He is working on your behalf. He has provided the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Jesus can carry it all.

When I am afraid…

I love that when I hear the start of that I automatically finish it off with “I will trust in You, I will trust in You!” from Psalm 56:3 Thank you Steve Green and Hide ’em in Your Heart music!

Whether there are big looming fears for the world or just small things that I am concerned about I need this easy reminder that God is the one I trust in…

not world leaders…

not bank accounts…

not employers…

not my abilities…

not ________________ [fill in the blank]

I have had to practice reminding myself this. There have been times that I have been fearful, of course. But a short rundown of all the ways God has provided for me usually brings me back to a more even keel.

I am so thankful God has me on His mind. He knows what I come up against and my tendency to fall into that fear trap. When I take my eyes off of Him is surely the times that I stumble.

And I feel badly for those who have no use for God and yet live in fear over so much. I know several people who have no use for God but are in a state of high anxiety. I am going to be bold and ask God to open the door with them for a conversation about Him. I am open to having the discussion but I want it to come from their questions and desire to have more peace in their lives.

Behind the Scenes

Scenario A: If you have ever been to a play or worked on a play or any performance, you know there are a lot of things that go on “behind the scenes.” There are sometimes double the people you see out front scurrying around in the back getting things where they need to be and taking care of technical things. The “scene” might look amazing and the “stars” may as well, but the real stars are everyone who worked together to make it happen, not just the people out front.

Scenario B: You surely have seen someone who created a picture perfect world either in real life or on social media. The posts are all coordinated and perfect and everyone looks darling but what it really took to get to that was some ugliness. The “behind the scene” is the sad reality. And the drive to present something completely different overtakes their life.

Scenario C: Maybe you have heard the fictional story about the person who talks to God about what a disaster their life is. They are comparing it to the “backside” of something like an embroidery project that is not designed to be viewed from that angle. And God reassures them that He sees their life from the top side. They are only seeing their life from “behind the scenes” with an awareness of the difficulties when He looks at all and what He is doing to bring it together to be something beautiful.

We all have things going on “behind the scenes”. Some of it is good, some of it is bad, some of it is neutral. Being a real person doesn’t necessarily mean you show every person every wart you have. But having a few people in your life where you can be real is really important.

God knows our hearts and longs for us to express our fears, failures, excitement, disappointments — all of it. There are trustworthy people out there to share with, too. When we are vulnerable and share the difficulties of our days with others, it helps them see our humanity and invites them to share theirs as well.

There are times we may have to “take the stage” and act as if things aren’t difficult, depending on the situation. But let’s not let that be the general way we are. Then reality gets confusing for everyone!

Psalm 139 is such a great place to start for real, honest conversation with God. He loves you and wants you to bring it all to him: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He is sure to work in and through us with it all to make something beautiful.

Adjusting

My right eye is still adjusting to all the excitement and disruption of last week’s cataract surgery.

It takes time.

I noticed a new weird thing and asked my eye doctor about it at my one week check up yesterday. Apparently I can see the outer edge of the implant — which is not the word I would have thought to use — and it will take time for everything to settle down in there. He said to give it 30 days.

It takes time.

Lots of things take time. I actually prefer to do a deep dive and get super focused on projects and get them taken care of, but that really doesn’t work for most things.

Relationships.

Savings accounts.

Healing.

Strength building.

Big projects.

It’s important to allow the time needed and even allow extra time because things don’t always go as planned.

I can do my part. But I also need to trust God with His part. If He is guiding me…

…and I am listening…

the next steps will be in front of me.

I am trusting God with His timing. He knows our needs and well provides [for] us. Loves us every day the same — He even call us by our name!

Better late than…

A sleepless night and a day booked all the way through and, here we are. But it is a good reminder to me that not everything must happen like clockwork and that life happens.

And, thankfully, God accepts our offerings — our prayers and our devotion at any point in life.

Sometimes we are waylaid and bound up. Maybe we are distracted or lost. Maybe we are otherwise occupied — we might even be doing very important things.

There are times we have made some plans for God — we expect Him to show up in a certain way. Surely He is absolutely there, wherever it is, but we have an expectation on the “how” He is supposed to be present. He isn’t ever late. He isn’t never waylaid or bound up. He’s not distracted or lost or otherwise occupied —

But, sometimes He does not show up in the way we wan’t Him to.

Lord, let me trust in the how, when, and where that you choose for my situations. It may never looked how I imagined but it can be even more beautiful if I let You work things out in Your time and Your way. Let me completely trust You with my days. Amen.

And Crown Him Lord of All

I have had a hymn running through my mind for the last few days — All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

I was mulling over this line: And Crown Him Lord of all…

Of course, He is Lord of all. There is no debate in my mind. But whether or not we crown Him that, He is. He is Lord of all.

But, it seems to be the thing that slips so quickly from my mind when I am in the middle of worldly concerns. It is so easy to forget that our situations are temporary, especially in light of the big picture. And that Jesus will be Lord of all, even if we fail to recognize, comprehend, or acknowledge it. When my day starts off with a focus on God and the work He has done and continues to do it makes a difference. When I am properly oriented to this Truth, my head, heart, and spirit are in the right place.

The Lord is my light and salvation.

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

The Lord is my light and salvation
whom shall I fear?

There is a lot of fear going around these days. We are not quite through a pandemic which has altered many of our lives and livelihoods. And now there is a war in Ukraine. I can’t really stop any of these things that are going on in the world. But I can run to God with my fears and confusion.

Lord, be my salvation. Be the stronghold of my life. Be my confidence and truth. Be my defender. Be my healer. Be the one that knows the bigger picture and sees how it works together. Be the one I trust in all things. Hear me when I am afraid. Help me trust in You.

The Lord is my light and salvation
whom shall I fear?

Guard Your Hearts and Your Minds

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We certainly must do what we can to guard our hearts and our minds. And going to God in prayer in every situation looks like the first line of defense. There are times that seeking God has fallen off my “to do” list. I get overwhelmed with the tasks ahead of me and I “save time” by plowing ahead — ungirded, disconnected, and underprepared.

We are in the world and we can fall prey to worldly things so easily. As we present every situation to God, He uses that time to send us His peace and protection. That peace of God can flood our conversations, our schedule, our tasks … our day.

Let’s do a five day challenge this week. 5 days of intentional prayer time. If you are in, let me know and send me one of your top verses via email to vospower6@hotmail.com. For the next 4 days we will start each day with a PrayerPoint.

For today, take time to present your day to God. What is on the calendar? How do you feel about what is on the calendar? Think of the mundane tasks as well as the overwhelming ones. Walk through your commitments, but don’t forget to pray for those gaps. Is there some space for God’s agenda? Are we booking each day so solidly that there is no room to move and be flexible?

I’ll see you tomorrow!

And the Peace of God…

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding...

Have you ever visited with someone who, by any standard, has gone through some incredible suffering?

It often goes one of two ways — they are completely stuck in a cycle of despair and anger and overwhelm for years or they are in a place of peace. They know they cannot control others and the things they do, they know they can only control their response. And they trust God will work out the ugly details for His good.

I am always refreshed and amazed at the peace of God…it is unexplainable. To interact with someone who has God’s true peace is such an encouragement.

The Lord Almighty is with us…

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. [Psalm 46, NIV]

The Lord Almighty is with us. And yet, we are preparing for Him too! We welcome, watch, and wait for God to work even as He is already working. We can see what He has done and still we wait as He is always doing more, more than we can imagine.

I am so thankful He is with me. Day in and day out, He doesn’t change although how I see Him and His work is always enlarging. It won’t be until Heaven that I maybe see the entirety of God’s work and, even then, I don’t believe it is all for me to know.

It is for me to trust…to be still… and to know that He is God.

Blessings on your week!
Liz