Right now I am really wishing that life was easy and not messy. Let's be honest, though, life is not easy, and it most definitely is messy. At least my life is...
My life would be so much easier if I could just figure out exactly how to give everything over to God. I hear people say it all the time..."Let Go and Let God", but would somebody please explain to me how to do that?
My life would be easier if I could learn to guard my heart. It says we are supposed to do that in scripture; in Proverbs 4 it says..."Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life". Sounds easy enough, right? But if my heart is the wellspring of life, then it is from my heart that the people around me can receive the living water! So, how do I guard it without blocking it off completely? I mean, I would have no problem putting up a fortress around it and keeping it safe from any enemy attack. But, that would also block the wellspring of life from flowing out of me...and I definitely don't want that. So, what am I supposed to do? I wish the answer to that question was simple, but so far I haven't been able to figure it out. Philippians tells us that if we go to God in prayer and petition, trusting in Him, He will guard our hearts. That seems simple...pray and God will take care of it. But what about when God is silent? What happens when you pray and ask God to guard your heart, but your heart continues to hurt? What happens when the people around you, whether they know what they are doing or not, continue to pierce your heart, and you have no idea how to protect it? What happens when you cry out to God and you don't hear anything in response? What do you do then?
I actually do know the answer to that question, but its not an easy thing to do. The answer is to wait. Augh, I hate that word! I don't like waiting, especially when I am suffering and I just want things to get better. When something is broken, I want it fixed, I don't want to have to wait for it to be fixed! But the truth is, I am broken...and I need to be fixed. I can't fix myself, and no one else can fix me. I have to wait to be fixed.
So, I am in the place of waiting. Did I mention that I hate waiting? I have tried several other things to try and fix myself, and none of them have worked (no surprise there). Its kinda like if my toilet broke at 4 in the morning and I really wanted to go to the bathroom. As hard as I would try, there is no way I could just fix a toilet. It wouldn't matter how desperate I was to fix it, how badly I needed to use the bathroom, I would not suddenly be given the gift of toilet fixing. I would have to wait...to wait for a man who knew how to fix toilets.
There is only one man who knows how to fix me, and no matter how desperate I am to be fixed, I have to wait on Him. He promises to come, He promises to fix me...but He makes no promises about when and how. So, I wait. Did I mention that I hate waiting?
As I wait, there is silence. I look around and can see and feel little comfort. This does not make the waiting easier. Again, I cry out for someone to at least make the wait bearable. Again, I hear nothing. So, I have to turn to the only thing I know...to the only thing that has ever really brought me comfort in times of trouble, peace in times of chaos, and love in times of loneliness- the Scripture. Here is what the truth says:
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. " ~Psalm 51:17
"because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~James 1:3-4
"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy" ~ James 5:11
"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." ~Deuteronomy 31:8
My life would be so much easier if I could just figure out exactly how to give everything over to God. I hear people say it all the time..."Let Go and Let God", but would somebody please explain to me how to do that?
My life would be easier if I could learn to guard my heart. It says we are supposed to do that in scripture; in Proverbs 4 it says..."Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life". Sounds easy enough, right? But if my heart is the wellspring of life, then it is from my heart that the people around me can receive the living water! So, how do I guard it without blocking it off completely? I mean, I would have no problem putting up a fortress around it and keeping it safe from any enemy attack. But, that would also block the wellspring of life from flowing out of me...and I definitely don't want that. So, what am I supposed to do? I wish the answer to that question was simple, but so far I haven't been able to figure it out. Philippians tells us that if we go to God in prayer and petition, trusting in Him, He will guard our hearts. That seems simple...pray and God will take care of it. But what about when God is silent? What happens when you pray and ask God to guard your heart, but your heart continues to hurt? What happens when the people around you, whether they know what they are doing or not, continue to pierce your heart, and you have no idea how to protect it? What happens when you cry out to God and you don't hear anything in response? What do you do then?
I actually do know the answer to that question, but its not an easy thing to do. The answer is to wait. Augh, I hate that word! I don't like waiting, especially when I am suffering and I just want things to get better. When something is broken, I want it fixed, I don't want to have to wait for it to be fixed! But the truth is, I am broken...and I need to be fixed. I can't fix myself, and no one else can fix me. I have to wait to be fixed.
So, I am in the place of waiting. Did I mention that I hate waiting? I have tried several other things to try and fix myself, and none of them have worked (no surprise there). Its kinda like if my toilet broke at 4 in the morning and I really wanted to go to the bathroom. As hard as I would try, there is no way I could just fix a toilet. It wouldn't matter how desperate I was to fix it, how badly I needed to use the bathroom, I would not suddenly be given the gift of toilet fixing. I would have to wait...to wait for a man who knew how to fix toilets.
There is only one man who knows how to fix me, and no matter how desperate I am to be fixed, I have to wait on Him. He promises to come, He promises to fix me...but He makes no promises about when and how. So, I wait. Did I mention that I hate waiting?
As I wait, there is silence. I look around and can see and feel little comfort. This does not make the waiting easier. Again, I cry out for someone to at least make the wait bearable. Again, I hear nothing. So, I have to turn to the only thing I know...to the only thing that has ever really brought me comfort in times of trouble, peace in times of chaos, and love in times of loneliness- the Scripture. Here is what the truth says:
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. " ~Psalm 51:17
"because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~James 1:3-4
"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy" ~ James 5:11
"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." ~Deuteronomy 31:8
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope." ~Matthew 12:18-21 (I feel bruised...and I am a Reed, haha) :)
There is so much more that I could put on here, but there isn't room. I do finally want to add a "parable" that I recently read in Larry Crabb's book, "Shattered Dreams". Its amazing and absolutely speaks to my heart. (Just click on the image to make it bigger so you can read it.)
There is so much more that I could put on here, but there isn't room. I do finally want to add a "parable" that I recently read in Larry Crabb's book, "Shattered Dreams". Its amazing and absolutely speaks to my heart. (Just click on the image to make it bigger so you can read it.)
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