Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always?
There are times in life when we question God. I've heard some say "you shouldn't question God". I'm of the belief that God is big enough for my questions. If we want answers we have to ask. For years I wanted to be a dad. Doesn't seem like much to ask of God, people have children everyday. Right? God can handle that, after all He is God. The desire to be a father soon turned into a frustration for me. Wasn't God listening?Several years ago I made a conscious decision to have faith in God, to totally surrender. I have been a Christian since I was 7 years old, but did I truly trust Him with every aspect of my life? The point in my life that I made the decision to trust God the fact that I was childless no longer a frustration, peace settled in on me. Even though the desire of my heart was to hear a little voice say, "daddy", I was content with whatever God's plan was for my life. If God didn't want me to be a father I was OK with that. It was a relief to live without that frustration any longer. It was wonderful to be at the point where I had moved past my anger about the situation. This was the process of learning to rejoice in the Lord always.
When something consumes your life like this sort of frustration or disappointment it is such a relief to get past it. That relief only came when I put my faith in action by totally surrendering to God's plan for my life whatever it might be. The peace of God that went beyond my understanding came over me.
I'm reminded of that peace, that decision to totally surrender every time I hear the sound of a little guy shuffling down the hallway in his footie pajamas and I hear that little voice say, "Good morning daddy!" God taught me a lesson, it took many years to learn the lesson but God taught me a lesson (actually several). God is God and His plans are best, even when we don't fully understand at the time. God sees the big picture, He knows the future, I can only see what is in front of me at the time. Faith is trust, total surrender.
It is puzzling to me how we, as believers in Jesus Christ, can trust Jesus with our salvation but can't trust him with our finances, family, career, relationships . . .
What do you need to let go of and trust God with totally?
6 comments:
oh, Andy...this is a great post...very deep...really makes you think...you did good
Andy,
Very thought provoking. I am impressed. The mere ability to cause someone to think, as you have caused me, is a talent that many people strive for and never attain.
Thanks
Great stuff! (As usual!) My question is, how does anyone navigate through this life with any degree of peace without trusting God as the driver?
Thank you for posting this. We've been in the adoption process for 28 months now. Sometimes it feels like he'll never come home. I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense. I have to give it to God every day.
Amy
Chris,
I don't think they navigate through life with peace. I think probably there are many attempts to fill the "driver's seat" with something other than God.
Andy
Thank you for this. You have no idea how these words spoke to me, or how closely they align with so many other messages the Lord is sending to me. Thank you for being faithful to the call on your life.
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