At Some Point You Will Have to Trust God

My dad was a whole lot of fun. But at the same time he was a no nonsense father. When I asked him for something or permission to go somewhere he would give it fair thought. But once he said no that was it. There was no going further with the discussion. No pleading, begging, whining or cajoling would work on him. It only served to get me in trouble. A no was a no. And that was that.

That’s a real tough thing for a kid who always wants to know “why”. I find that I am still one who wants to know why. I even ask my husband “why”? I don’t mind going, doing, following, I don’t mind a change in direction, but I just love to know why.

Recently I was having a conversation with my Heavenly Father. In fact I had been conversing with Him for days about something. I kept asking Him the same question over and over – “Why?” Each and every day I would ask Him the same thing. No answer would come.

Finally, one morning just a few days ago He responded. I heard Him speak to my heart: “Don’t ever ask Me why again.” And then the Scripture came to mind: “In the fullness of time…”  Okay, I heard my Daddy God and that was that.  Either I would listen to Him and move on or I would continue to ask why and stay upset, wondering, trying to figure out the answer.

This morning during my quiet time I realized that as I had quit asking why I also had quit whining about it. I discovered that the more we ask why, the more we will whine. And the more we whine the more we are stuck in that situation, that problem, that turmoil, that feeling. I realized that why is short for whine!

God speaks to our hearts: At some point in time you will have to trust Me. The situation might get bleak, the days might get dark, the hurts will come and the doubts will fly around your head like a whole lot of gnats. You can swat at the problems, beg Me for answers and whine, whine, whine. But you will have to trust Me. Nothing can happen that I am not aware of. Nothing that surprises you surprises Me at all. No condition of your life is impossible, no situation of peril is unfixable, no power on earth nor power of man can move you from My will for your life – as long as you trust Me.  I AM the Lord. There is no other. It is I Who govern lives, countries, rulers and subjects. You are My child and because you are My child you can rest in My promises, relax in My decisions and rejoice in My direction.  Behold precious child, I AM about to take you beyond yourself. I AM about to move in your life in such a direction that the heavenly host is already singing Hallelujah. Stop asking Me why and start asking Me why not? Lock arms in faith with Me and let Me walk you out of the present familiarity and into the unknown future that I have created just for you.

Oh beloved, leave it all at the Father’s feet. Hang a “No whining” sign on your heart. Open the Book of Love, Peace, Prosperity, Thankfulness and Trust and rehearse His Truth!!! You are more than the sum of your “why’s”. As you leave the why’s behind, you will discover even more intimately how much God loves you and how passionately He is for you.  And then you will discover that God is all that really matters as you travel under His direction, His sovereignty and His authority all the days of your life.

Job 40:2 Then the Lord said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Proverbs 22:19 I am teaching you today--yes, you--so you will trust in the LORD.

Proverbs 8:32 And so, my children, listen to me, for all who follow My ways are joyful.

Deuteronomy 13:4 Serve only the Lord your God and fear Him alone. Obey His commands, listen to His voice, and cling to Him.

Double Vision? God's Word will Clear That Right Up!

What a beautiful day yesterday was! As I worked through the morning I discovered that my vision was getting blurry. I think the strain of sitting at the computer to enter data for 4H youth might have started it, but as the day wore on I began feeling rather tired and just wanted to sit with my eyes closed and rest them and myself.

Although I could see clearly out the door of my office and into the parking lot, the up close effects were astonishing. I had to look closely at what I was typing so that I wouldn’t make a mistake. It took a lot more effort to do the close-up work rather than simply scanning over it. But as I looked closer I discovered some typos that would not do for the work I was preparing. It had to be spelled correctly and I had to make sure that I was reading it right from the copy I was using, because some of my work was going out from my boss to others across the nation. I wouldn’t want to embarrass him by erroneously changing a word.

Often we think we are seeing our situation clearly but we’re straining to live up to the world’s system of thinking. We see fine when we’re simply scanning the world, but when we try to look closer, we find that our thinking and our standards have become fuzzy. We wonder which way we should go, how we should react and what we should be doing.

The only way to see the Truth is to examine it closely. Many voices cry out for our attention, so that we start seeing double. We have two modes of operation trying to vie for our sight and it’s really a battle between Truth and untruth. Half-truths that make us think they’ll be good for us. But half-truths are actually lies and will only continue the fuzzy thinking and make for wrong decisions.

Have you been trying to see clearly for your life? Have you wondered why, no matter how hard you try, thinks just seem unclear? It’s time to rest your heart and mind in the Word! It’s time to decide to make a stand for God’s unchangeable Scriptures.  Nowhere else will you have complete healing of your sight and firm direction for your mind.  He speaks His truth into your life. Want to know about prayer? Pray to the Father. What about hope? Hope in the Lord. Wondering about love? God is love. 

Oh beloved, rest your heart in Him and watch as He makes everything clear for your present situation – no matter what it is. The world will tell you it’s impossible, but God will say look at Me and I will give you everything you need. The world will tell you to relax about God’s Truth and you’ll be seeing double. But look to His Word and keep your heart on single vision. See His Word, it’s His bond. The Great I AM loves you and is for you and that’s what makes everything clear!

James 1:23-24 For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.

Psalm 86:11 Teach me Your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to Your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor You.

Jeremiah 32:39 And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship Me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.

Trust God and Let Go!

Watching Stella yesterday it’s amazing how much she’s grown and changed. She’s become a genuine toddler and definitely coming into the two year old stage of getting into everything and saying no a lot! She’s learning to take risks and venture out and try things she’s not familiar with.

Yesterday her mother was sitting her at the top of the slide. Then mother went down to the bottom of the slide to urge Stella to let go and slide. Stella sat there and hung on tightly. Finally, she let go! The look on her face was priceless as she slid. There was a wide eyed look of “what’s going to happen?” followed at the bottom with a look of pure delight, when momma caught her! She giggled and ran around to the ladder to do it again!  Each time there was a little hesitation, a little uncertainty and then reward as momma was always there waiting to catch her and keep her safe.

Stella wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but she still wanted to slide! The first time she was most unsure, but after her mother caught her, every time she slid she got braver and braver. She knew and trusted that her mother would be there for her. If she hadn’t let go, her momma would have still been there. But Stella would have missed the thrill at the end of the ride!

Oh beloved, is God speaking new horizons to you? Is He asking you to launch out where you’ve never gone before? Maybe He’s calling you to a deeper walk with Him. He’s wooing you to come closer and seek His face. He could be asking you to lay aside some other things for more time with him.  It might be that He is calling you to service for Him, whether into the mission field or another ministry. He can be trusted! Where He sends you He will keep you. Where He keeps you He will reward you.  Let Go and enjoy the life God is calling you to.  Nothing He ever asks you to give up will ever replace the comfort of knowing you are right where God wants you.  Yes there are risks; yes there are things you must leave behind, but oh beloved! It’s worth it! For in the end it will be God you stand before and hear, “Well done…”  All those friends you think you have to leave behind? They need the Lord too! You may very well become the instrument God uses to lead others to Himself. Regardless of the unknown things ahead, God goes before you and He loves you! Oh how He loves you!

Let Him lead you and guide you all the way to heaven, for there’s no other way to live a life of pure joy than to let Him have first place. He loves you always and you can count on Him to be there for you and that’s worth following His plans!

Jeremiah 10:23 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.

Isaiah 30:21 Your own ears will hear Him.  Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.

Mark 8:35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.

Wondering How You Got Here? Turn and Follow God

Our son in law works for a company that builds highways. He mostly oversees the pavement mixes. He carries around huge cylinders of the asphalt and checks to see if it’s the right consistency and sets up correctly. As we ride across roads and interstates none of us wonders about the construction. We just enjoy the safety of the roads. But someone is working behind the scenes to make sure that all aspects of the infrastructure is right and safe. 

It’s the job of the road laying crew to lay out the pavement along the right paths.  What would happen if our son in law didn’t follow the right directions on making the paving materials?  It wouldn’t stand up to the traffic and it could even be dangerous when the road gave way under the load.  Imagine too if the laying crews didn’t follow the architect’s projected path. The road would end up going in whatever direction the crew decided for themselves. It would not lead to the intended destination. As they veered off the path they would encounter lack of foundation work, ditches, boulders, trees, more. To say the least the road would be unsafe and it could even lead to disaster.

Oh beloved, what road have you been traveling lately? Your own? Have you found that you are meeting huge obstacles or that you’ve ended up off God’s path?  Often we think it doesn’t matter if we vary from God’s design and way for our lives. But it does!  We cannot expect to go our own way and attempt to please the One Who designed things so that we could have life and live it more abundantly.  You may have traveled your own direction for a long time and thought it was find only to arrive at a dead end.

Run to the Lord, the Master Designer, this morning! It’s not too late to get on His Highway and follow His directions. Our Father in Heaven is always calling us back to His road; He’s always wooing us to Himself with love, comfort and peace. Let Him re-direct things for you and let Him open His Plan Book for you. His ways are best, His ways always lead to safety and ultimately to our destination.  There may be times when God’s road seems too hard to follow, but the only place of ultimate safety is His Way! He is calling you and He’s prepared a place for you. He loves you and He’s for you and that’s worth following Him!

Numbers 32:25  Then the men of Gad and Reuben replied, “We, your servants, will follow your instructions exactly.”

Psalm 5:8  Lead me in the right path, O LORD, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.

Psalm 119:73 You made me; You created me. Now give me the sense to follow Your commands.

Psalm 37:23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

2 Chronicles 15:4  But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him out, they found Him.