Some of you already know that our family has hit on some difficult times in the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago my husband's car was involved in 3 wrecks in 5 days and we spent several days just seeking after God in the midst of our chaos. Then last week we went down to one car as we are waiting to get tags put on the car my amazing father-in-law so graciously gave us. This means we all have to get up before 6 am, load up the car, drive my husband to work, drive home and then pick him up again at the end of the work day. On top of that, my car needed a new tire two weekends ago and this past weekend in addition to a standard oil change, we had to replace the brake pads and rotors on my car. To make things even more challenging, last week was spring break which means I did not nanny, and this week the little boy I watch has been sick, so I have only watched him one day. No nanny job means no paycheck for me.
Suffice it to say, we are experiencing a time of trial. I share this not to get your pity or even to complain about how horrible my life is. I share this because so often I allow my struggles to isolate me. The enemy feeds us the lie that we are alone in our struggles and there is no one else out there who will understand. The enemy wants to deter us from seeking out our God and remembering the truths of Scripture. The enemy wants to distract us with our current circumstance so that we won't remember God's past provisions.
God has shown up in real and profound ways time and time again. When we first moved to Louisville back in 2009, we came totally on faith. We had no jobs, no place to live, and no real savings. We simply knew that God had called Aaron to Southern Baptist Seminary and we were going to follow that call. Within a matter of days of being in Louisville, my husband was giving a job at the seminary's dining hall, which would turn into a full-time manager position years later and provide meals many times over the years. We found a small apartment that more than met our needs. During those first few months though, money was very tight. I distinctly remember one day when I had to go buy groceries. We only had about $20 in our account so I was making a list of the absolute essentials we needed to feed our son. Before I went to the store, I walked down and checked our mailbox. Inside was a letter from someone back home with a check for $100. I ran up the stairs to our apartment and showed my husband. That check meant we could buy food we actually wanted, not just what we needed. God provided!
My God is a great God who has promised to take care of me and my family and my God can be trusted to keep his promises. Today I spent some time in God's word seeking out some Scripture to remind me of this truth. I want to share a few of the verses that really hit home with me.
Psalm 18:30 - "This God-his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."
- I serve a perfect God and his word is proven true time and time again! Hallelujah!
Psalm 111:4-5 - "He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever."
- My God has always been faithful and he will continue to be. When I face struggles, I need to remember all his wondrous works. Pray that God will remind you of all he has done for you!
Philippians 4:6 - "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God."
- Often I do not give voice to my requests. Sometimes I believe I am being selfish or that God has more important things to deal with, but this verse shatters that lie. I am told to make my requests known to God, not because he doesn't already know, but because part of the process of letting go of anxiety is knowing that you have given it to God. When I give voice to my requests, I can let them go and trust in my God to fulfill my needs
Philippians 4:19 - "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
- My God has promised to supply my needs-I need to cling to that promise!
The past couple of days, I have struggled with trusting God completely to provide and care for us. I had reached my natural capacity for trust. So this morning I am asking for a supernatural capacity for trust. I am getting in my God's face with his word, begging him to keep his promises and to give me the strength to remember and trust!
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
I Am Not God!
Sometimes I think I know better than God. There are times when I believe that I know exactly what should happen in a given situation, and I pray for exactly that outcome. When the answer to my prayers is "no" and things don't go according to my plan, I doubt God's sovereignty and his plan. In the times when the answer is "no" I begin to doubt if God actually hears my prayers and I doubt whether he actually is working towards the good of his people. I forget that I am only seeing a minuscule part of a massive and intricate picture. I forget that I am not the center of the universe.
There is a person in my life whom I have been praying for fervently. I believe that I know exactly what this person needs (apart from a true relationship with Jesus) and I have been praying for my plan for this person to come to fruition. I have found Scripture to pray through for this person that I think justify my perspective. A couple of weeks ago a situation arose in this person's life and I truly believed that my plan was about to be enacted in this person's life. I actually thanked God for the situation because it meant that what I thought should happen would happen. Then God answered my prayers with a great big resounding, "NO".
In the days that followed I questioned God. I just could not understand how he could tell me "no" when clearly my plan was the best thing for this person. As I talked to other people connected to the situation we all talked about how it was hard to see God' sovereignty. Because I could not see the bigger plan, I chose to believe that God had dropped the ball. My arrogance and sin kept me from seeing God's grace in the life of this person.
How often do we chose to question God rather than trust him? How often do we chose anger over being told "no" rather than rejoicing in our God's sovereignty? How often do we believe the lie that we are God?
The truth of the matter is that I am not God. It is not up to Lisa Tant to keep the universe moving. It is not up to Lisa Tant to bring about the ultimate plan of our great God. It is not up to you either! Our plans cannot compare to the big beautiful plan that God has had in place since the beginning of time. That is a truth that is really difficult to grasp, but it is a beautiful truth worth clinging to.
God has had an ultimate, complete plan since BEFORE the beginning of time.
Psalm 139:16 - "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
Isaiah 46:9b-10 - "for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish my purpose,"
Our God created the whole universe by simply speaking it into existence for the sole purpose of bringing glory to himself. God put into play, from the beginning, a beautiful salvation plan that calls his people to himself. Our God is at work and who are we to question his great plan?
When I begin to question God's goodness and sovereignty in the plans of my life, I remind myself of the story of Job. Job was a good, righteous man who feared the Lord and Satan attacked him and caused him great suffering. We, the readers, are able to see the greater plan at play in this story, but Job was never given that privilege. He only knew his current suffering and yet he still trusted in the goodness of his God. I love the end of Job, chapter 38 to the end. The Lord speaks into Job's situation, not with a great revelation of the plan at play, but simply by saying, "who are you?" Basically God says to Job, "were you there when I created everything? Are you able to control time? Do you possess the ability to control any part of creation?" God does not reveal his plan to Job, but simply establishes that he has a plan.
We need to remember that God is in control and we have done nothing to earn knowledge of that plan. We cannot comprehend the thoughts of God and we are foolish to think that we can come up with a plan that can outdo God.
Job 42:2 - "I know that you can do all things, and that no plan of yours can be thwarted."
Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
God is in control, and that is all we need to know.
There is a person in my life whom I have been praying for fervently. I believe that I know exactly what this person needs (apart from a true relationship with Jesus) and I have been praying for my plan for this person to come to fruition. I have found Scripture to pray through for this person that I think justify my perspective. A couple of weeks ago a situation arose in this person's life and I truly believed that my plan was about to be enacted in this person's life. I actually thanked God for the situation because it meant that what I thought should happen would happen. Then God answered my prayers with a great big resounding, "NO".
In the days that followed I questioned God. I just could not understand how he could tell me "no" when clearly my plan was the best thing for this person. As I talked to other people connected to the situation we all talked about how it was hard to see God' sovereignty. Because I could not see the bigger plan, I chose to believe that God had dropped the ball. My arrogance and sin kept me from seeing God's grace in the life of this person.
How often do we chose to question God rather than trust him? How often do we chose anger over being told "no" rather than rejoicing in our God's sovereignty? How often do we believe the lie that we are God?
The truth of the matter is that I am not God. It is not up to Lisa Tant to keep the universe moving. It is not up to Lisa Tant to bring about the ultimate plan of our great God. It is not up to you either! Our plans cannot compare to the big beautiful plan that God has had in place since the beginning of time. That is a truth that is really difficult to grasp, but it is a beautiful truth worth clinging to.
God has had an ultimate, complete plan since BEFORE the beginning of time.
Psalm 139:16 - "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
Isaiah 46:9b-10 - "for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish my purpose,"
Our God created the whole universe by simply speaking it into existence for the sole purpose of bringing glory to himself. God put into play, from the beginning, a beautiful salvation plan that calls his people to himself. Our God is at work and who are we to question his great plan?
When I begin to question God's goodness and sovereignty in the plans of my life, I remind myself of the story of Job. Job was a good, righteous man who feared the Lord and Satan attacked him and caused him great suffering. We, the readers, are able to see the greater plan at play in this story, but Job was never given that privilege. He only knew his current suffering and yet he still trusted in the goodness of his God. I love the end of Job, chapter 38 to the end. The Lord speaks into Job's situation, not with a great revelation of the plan at play, but simply by saying, "who are you?" Basically God says to Job, "were you there when I created everything? Are you able to control time? Do you possess the ability to control any part of creation?" God does not reveal his plan to Job, but simply establishes that he has a plan.
We need to remember that God is in control and we have done nothing to earn knowledge of that plan. We cannot comprehend the thoughts of God and we are foolish to think that we can come up with a plan that can outdo God.
Job 42:2 - "I know that you can do all things, and that no plan of yours can be thwarted."
Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
God is in control, and that is all we need to know.
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