Here We Go
I have been so blessed by attending the Ladies Bible Class at our church this year, and we are only in the 3rd week! I find myself looking forward to every Tuesday and really enjoying the time spent with other Christian women. I am still new and getting to know the others, but it is very welcoming and I love it. The best benefit of all is my time spent actually studying the Bible and the blessing that is to my life. So many things have impacted me already from our study. I know it should not amaze me when God works in my life, but it is so awesome to see it directly happening and be aware of it daily!
The biggest thing God is challenging me on right now is my idea that in some way I am in control of things. Ha! I am a very structured person and a huge planner, and while this benefits me most of the time, it is actually a huge stumbling block for my faith, because I tend to forget that I am definitely not the one who is running the show. The last few years have showed me that vividly, as not much has turned out the way I had planned for it to. The absolute best part of that though is that everything is a million times better than I could have imagined it would be! Praise God:) And better yet, He has done all this in spite of my doubts and fears and frustrations. So today I am thankful that I am not in control, and boy does that take a lot of stress off right there!!! I am learning what it really looks like to walk by faith, and to step out into the unknown, and to actually embrace that uncertainty about the future, because trusting God is all that matters anyway. As long as I have that part right, everything else will be OK, no matter what.
I love this line from my Bible study book....The Frazzled Female. The author says "God wants you to believe Him first, without knowing the outcome of your situation." Wow. It seems so simple, but things like that are really hard for me. I need to have all the facts, have all my ducks in a row, and weigh my options before I can make a decision. I have a need to have some idea of the outcome before I can decide which path to take, so not knowing the outcome is really scary for me! Silas has been such a faithful example of this for me, and I am so thankful for that. He has such a strong faith that all things work for good in our lives, and always believes the best is coming. I used to make fun of him for being so optimistic all the time (unlike me who is very "realistic" so I thought!), but the truth of the matter is, he simply has a faith grounded in the fact that God is good and is in control no matter what our circumstances are, and instead of being stressed, he finds joy in that. Oh how I wish I was more like that. I am working on it though, little by little.
My mom bought me this daily devotional book that has been awesome in addressing this issue too. It's called Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. Here is the page from September 17th.
" You will not find my peace by engaging in excessive planning: attempting to control what will happen to you in the future. That is a commonly practiced form of unbelief. When your mind spins with multiple plans, Peace may sometimes seem to be within your grasp; yet it always eludes you. Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities, something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion. I did not design the human mind to figure out the future. That is beyond your capability. I crafted your mind for continual communication with Me. Bring Me all your needs, your hopes and fears. Commit everything into My care. Turn from the path of planning to the path of Peace."
This was taken from 1 Peter 5:6-7, Proverbs 16:9, and Psalm 37:5
So I am committing out loud to work on letting go of my false sense of control, and seeking to trust more, and believe more, and have a stronger faith overall. I know this will not be an easy task for me. I also know that when you commit to something, you tend to get tested in that area, which can be tough! I am a planner, a scheduler, a list maker. I know that in itself is not bad, but the trusting in myself to make sure everything is OK needs to go. I'm scared to death, but excited to see what happens too:) Here we go......
posted by Lauren at
11:14 AM
1 Comments:
We don't know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future:) I'm glad your Bible study is good, and it makes me want to find one too. Thanks for sharing that passage, I really liked it and read it a couple of times. Love you.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home