Tag: Gods will

Our Father

God will take care of you.

I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but God is going to take care of you.

Last weekend, my church continued a sermon series about what it’s like being part of the body of Christ. They specifically focused on a portion of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done”, and challenged us to think about whether or not we truly put our needs in the Lord’s hands when we call out to Him.

That got me thinking, and I initially wanted to do a post about this segment of the Lord’s Prayer. But then I realized that perhaps it would be even better to do a complete series about the Lord’s Prayer, going from addressing God as our father all the way through each stanza.

I don’t know what kind of father figure you had/have in your life. Perhaps he’s a wonderful man who makes you laugh, provides for your needs, and makes sure that you’re becoming who you’re meant to be. Or maybe you didn’t have a father like that. Perhaps it’s even painful to think of the word father. Or maybe you had a dad that cared about you, but wasn’t very good at showing it, or was unable to meet your needs.

Whatever situation you come from, I want you to realize that God is not any of the father figures you’ve seen or experienced. God is the attributes of a wonderful father– caring, compassionate, stable– only times a million!

But the attribute that I want to focus on today is that by God being your Heavenly Father, He is going to take care of you.

In fact, God promises that He knows what you need before you even have the need.

Last week, I was going through a rough time. Not a rough time as in experiencing a significant loss, doing terribly at work, or finding myself in a financial crisis. No, I was just having a rough time in my spiritual journey.

I was feeling very discouraged and burned out. I’m the type of person who puts my all in everything I do, which causes me to run out of energy occasionally. I felt like I wasn’t really hearing from God.

Then, to top it all off, I started feeling unwell. I was like, are you serious? How is this going to help me do what I need to do when I already feel so unmotivated?

But God still had a plan. I ended up taking a much needed rest for a few days and that caused me to put life back into perspective. Once I admitted my need for rest, I was healed.

Then, God answered a long-awaited prayer two days ago that really encouraged me. I finally have a very encouraging friend back in my life after not hearing from her for several months. I was overjoyed.

But last night, I could feel my faith wavering once more. Do you ever just have a rush of insecurities hit you all at once and suddenly you forget your purpose? That’s basically what happened to me, and the enemy uses this strategy on me a lot. I wrote out in my journal, “God, it’s hard for me to understand why I shouldn’t just give up on all the things grasping for my attention and energy. Please encourage me to keep going.” I also wrote down a reminder that “God never gives up” even when we want to.

Well, God very much heard my prayers! He gave me unexpected extra time this morning to reflect and spend some time in the Word and to write this post. It had been a silent desire of mine to have the morning off, and God had patiently listened. Then, as I was searching for a verse to put in this blog, I felt drawn to Hebrews, one of my favorite books of the Bible. I was gifted a journal Bible and for the past two years I’ve been able to write in this Bible whenever I felt led to do so. I found a reminder for myself from March last year that had the specific words that I had longed to hear last night.

“Don’t give up. It’s all going to be worth it.”

I had no idea how I would be feeling today back when I wrote that. But God provided through that season when He reminded me to keep going the first time, and I have to trust that He will provide for me again through this season, and the next, and the next…

The thing is, God doesn’t promise to take away our struggles. He promises us that He will go through them with us.

And that’s a pretty big promise, if you ask me. After all, God promises this for every. single. person. on. Earth.

That’s a lot of people! But God loves all of us so much that He’s willing to do that.

God is our Father and no matter what the enemy throws our way, we have to rely on the One who loves us and cares for us to bring us through.

Today, look for the ways that God is using to try to bring you back to Him. Allow His peace to fill you even among the uncertainty of life. And remember that God loves you unconditionally and will always be there with arms open to welcome you home.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

But I Thought God Promised…

What does God really mean when He says He will give us the desires of our hearts?

Sorry for a bit of a late post for today’s Encouragement Thursday! I’ve had a recurring thought come to mind and I decided it would inspire this week’s post, despite the fact that I didn’t get the idea by being encouraged from someone else. I actually think this is a reminder that God’s been placing on my heart because I really needed to hear it this week.

Take a look at this verse:

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:5

I’m sure many of you have read this verse and felt your heart swell with joy and contentment, until…you didn’t get what you wanted.

Then you came to God in anger, frustration, defeat, or maybe all of the above. You said to God, “I thought you promised to give me what I wanted if I trusted you and praised you. Why didn’t things work out the way I planned?”

I think we’ve all been there, in that place, wondering why God didn’t “come through” for us. But the thing is, many of us just haven’t interpreted this verse correctly. Yet, it can still be a source of encouragement for us, just in a different way.

You see, God is always going to do what’s best, even if we don’t understand why. And just because you desire something doesn’t mean it’s what’s best in the long run. We don’t know the future, only God does, so really, we should only want what God wants because He’s the only one who can have everyone’s best interests in mind.

In addition, we often like to take verses out of context, don’t we? That’s okay, I’ve done it plenty of times. But it’s important to read around the verse too.

The following verse says this:

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:

 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Psalm 37: 6-7

The key to God’s promise in these verses is that if we are following God and placing our lives in His hands, He will make sure our patience, trust, and obidence is not in vain. He will make sure that our lives are used to bring others closer to Him and He will fill us with His love and mercy. And of course, in the end, we will spend the rest of eternity in Heaven with Him.

Isn’t that an even better gift than getting that short-term dream fulfilled?

God never leaves us empty-handed. But we need to be willing to do our part and not expect the Creator of the Universe to do whatever we ask simply because we believe it’s what’s right.

If you trust God and ultimately desire His will to be done, then you will get the desires of your heart.

So today, think about what you desire in life. Are your desires following along with what God has told you in the past? Are you upset at God because He didn’t do what you asked?

I know it’s hard to understand God sometimes (okay, a lot of the time). But it’s important to think “big picture” about life. We really don’t know what’s ahead, but we don’t have to be afraid because God is in control. We just have to trust Him and commit our lives to Him. And in the end, it’s worth the wait.

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lordweighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:1-3

Not Just for Display

Have you been longing to hear from God? Maybe this will help you deepen your relationship with Him.

I have a collection of bar soaps along my bathroom counter. Today when I was trying to pump soap out from my dispenser, I realized there was no more left. I was frustrated, thinking that I would have to go searching around the house for another dispenser of soap. That’s when I looked right in front of me and saw all those unused soaps. They were serving no purpose. The reason soap was created, of course, is to clean our hands. Not for collecting dust by being a display piece on my counter.

As I grabbed a fresh bar of soap, I thought about another item that is possibly collecting dust on our desks when it really should be used to its full potential.

That would be our Bibles. They aren’t just for display.

I’ve noticed that we (and this includes myself!) often turn to other sources to interpret the Bible for us. We would rather hear someone tell us that the Bible says exactly what we want to hear instead of actually doing the work to find out our answers for ourselves. It can certainly be hard, in a era where all of life’s solutions seem to be at our fingertips. We don’t want to do the hard work of digging deep into the Word of God in order to really know for ourselves if a choice, action, or decision is God’s will.

But friend, we are so missing out if we don’t dive into the Word of God! These are God’s love letters to us, our source of encouragement and hope. We shouldn’t be content with living off of someone else’s relationship with God. We should want to know the answer enough to do the work to find it.

The Bible is more than just a book. It’s alive and active. It never ages the way everything else does. Believe it or not, the people in the Bible struggled with the same sins we do. If you don’t believe me, check out the story of Noah. All the sins mentioned there are the same ones we are currently grappling with– and worse!

But reading the Bible isn’t supposed to be a boring task that we try to get through as quickly as we can (and I have certainly struggled with this). This is our time to really hear God’s voice. We wish we knew exactly what God wanted for us, right? So that we can have the best life possible?

Well, good news! You can know exactly what God wants for you by reading the Bible! Once you know how God feels about things and how He has spoken to others in the past, you can use those things to guide you in future decisions.

The Bible has messages that can be hard to accept. That’s often why we avoid reading it for ourselves and settle for cheap interpretations. Here’s something to look out for. Just like in science, if someone is making bold statements without any evidence, we wouldn’t want to believe them, right? Same goes for the Bible. If someone is claiming that God says a certain thing, but then doesn’t give any verses or even any context around the verses they may share, then how can we possibly believe them?

We need to be firm in our faith in order to stand up for it and to fully know what we believe in. The only way to do that is to make our faith our own by reading the Bible for ourselves.

If you have read the Bible and firmly believe with your whole heart that God is telling you something through it, even if I wouldn’t have naturally agreed with you, I will completely respect your thoughts because you have done the research and felt God’s Spirit guiding you.

But at this exact moment, can you honestly say that your faith is entirely your own? If someone asked you what you believe, what would you say?

Those are tough questions, and I’m not perfect, so I would struggle with answering them too. That’s why I’m going to give you a new challenge, and I will take it as well. Take some time each day to study the Bible for yourself. Find out if that action is a sin. Find out how much God loves you. Find out what God promises for your future.

Don’t settle. Never settle.

God’s Word is there to remind you of your purpose and how loved you are. Don’t waste this precious gift.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

-Hebrews 4:12

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Didn’t Get to Say Goodbye

Encouragement Thursday: You can still have peace, even if you didn’t get to say goodbye.

When you have to say goodbye to the way things used to be, may you learn to trust above everything, you are free to know peace (even without the closure you thought you would need).

-Morgan Harper Nichols

I’m definitely the type of person who longs for closure, that last goodbye. I want there to be a happy memory, but also something that made it final for me that things were over. I’ve been reflecting on this idea, especially since a week ago I didn’t get the closure on a particular season of life that I was longing for. I think the reason I struggle with needing closure, despite perhaps an innate human desire for it that we all have, would be the fact that a lot of my relationships have ended abruptly. I lost people without even realizing it until it was too late. I’m a very relational person, and I’m going to be honest, one of my biggest fears is losing people (whether figuratively or physically). So the fact that I’ve gone through this several times with people I’ve really cared about has weighed heavily on me and has affected my mindset.

You may be struggling right now with saying goodbye to someone, something, or some symbol of the way things used to be. We all have had to make a lot of adjustments recently, what with COVID-19, along with different issues our world is facing. Maybe you’re dealing with a lot of fear right now about the future.

I have been in that same place, and I know I may sink back there again. But I have to keep reminding myself, just as I hope I’m reminding you now, that it’s okay to be at peace when things change. You don’t have to have everything figured out before you can feel satisfied.

You know why?

Because you already have everything you need to keep going. God will fill you with the strength, joy, and motivation to find new opportunities. All you need to do is ask Him. And I’ve found it especially helpful to journal my feelings and read encouraging Bible verses, devotionals, or posts when I’m needing to find that strength again.

But just because you can have peace and contentment now, despite all you’ve lost, doesn’t mean you have to act like nothing has changed. You don’t have to keep that brave face on when you really want to expose your more sensitive side. It’s perfectly normal, in fact healthy, to grieve these losses in your life. That’s the only way you can eventually be ready to move on. But the process can be slow, and that’s okay. That doesn’t mean you’re weak or overly sensitive. It just means that you’re human and that you’re willing to go through the difficult process of growing into the person you’re meant to be.

So today, take some time to reflect on what’s holding you back from fully experiencing peace. If you need to cry, then cry. If you need to call an encouraging friend, then call them. If you need to take a break and just be alone with God, then take the time to do that. You deserve it. In fact, you owe it to yourself and your relationship with God and with others to allow yourself the freedom to express yourself and just breathe.

No matter who or what you’re grieving right now, your feelings are valid. But remember that they are not what make you who you are. They are not what defines you. Only God is the One who can truly tell you who you are.

And He says that you are valuable, loved, worthy, cherished, His precious child, and so much more.

You’re going to be okay. ❤

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens…

  a time to weep and a time to laugh,

    a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 4

The Next Level With God

Are you feeling tested or challenged in your faith? Keep reading for some encouragement.

The closer you get to God, the harder the enemy is going to make your life.

But I have some encouragement for you.

It might not “feel” harder.

I have an exercise bike, and when I first got it, the lowest speed was a good workout. But now, after owning it for several years, I need to have it at a significantly harder level in order to even feel like I’m exercising.

This might seem like an odd analogy, but bear with me here.

The longer my “relationship” with my exercise bike was, the more it took for me to be challenged, to grow, for the bike to do it’s purpose to strengthen me.

The same goes for our relationship with God. The longer we know Him and trust Him, the more we are capable of doing through Him. God will continue to strengthen us, and He promises to never give us anything we can’t handle. But that does mean that there will be difficult things in our lives that might test us. So we need to be prepared, but not frightened.

Our purpose in life is to do God’s work, spreading His love and bringing more and more people to faith. We aren’t going to fulfill our purposes by sitting on the couch binging Netflix or hiding our faith from others when in public. We need to be open about how God has helped us become who we are today. We shouldn’t force our beliefs on others, but we should be ready to share God’s love with them.

I’m not telling you all this to bring on the pressure or to scare you. I’m telling you this because I know you can handle what God’s going to do through you. I know that you are brave, determined, and resilient. But I also know that life can be terrifying, with all these unknowns ahead of us. Loss, heartbreak, and surprises could be around the next turn.

But so could be joy, peace, and hope. You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control your mindset. If you believe that God is working through every situation, then you don’t need to be afraid. God’s got this, and you’ve got this, and together you are an unstoppable team.

So today, don’t be afraid if you’re heading into a new level with God. He’s using this time to prepare you for amazing things that will change the lives of others. You just have to be willing to accept the new challenge and remember to not stay in the places that you’ve outgrown.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

What Do You Actually Want?

God doesn’t see us the way everyone else does.

Two posts in one day? Apparently yes!

My friends know I love good analogies, so hopefully this one suits your fancy!

I was watching my dog, Rocky, who I’ve talked about a few times on here. He basically attacks us while we are eating by jumping all around, barking, and scratching up our legs, unless we give him what he wants.

We decided to get him a can of dog food that he hasn’t had in a while to hopefully trick his sense of smell into thinking he was getting the same food as us.

He wagged his tail eagerly, waiting in anticipation, knowing exactly what he wanted…or so we thought.

The garbage bin usually sits out in the kitchen during dinner and is unfortunately just the right height for him to stick his little black nose into. After we opened the can and scooped out the food, we threw the can into the bin. Instead of running over to get the food, he raced to the trash to check out that can.

He was so focused on the outer wrapper that he didn’t pay attention to what was good for him, what was actually what he needed and wanted.

I think we can get distracted by the “wrapper” in life, too.

We see the fixings of a life that appears to be perfect. We see a person that has stunning looks. We see a memory or something we are clinging onto with rose colored glasses.

God gives and He takes away. He doesn’t want us to be so caught up in the wrapper; He wants us to go after the deeper meaning in life, in relationships, and in His call on our lives.

Don’t settle, whether it’s for a person, a job, or what you think you want out of life if it’s anything other than what God’s calling you to.

God knows what He’s doing. He’s the only one who can see the future. He’s the one who planned it! And He planned it with you in mind, the one He loves so very much.

When you see a person, don’t think about their appearance, give them a chance regardless of how they look. Treat everyone with God’s gentleness, grace, and kindness.

When you see an opportunity, think about if it’s what God wants you to do. Pray about it. Don’t just go for something because you are afraid of missing out. But at the same time, if you think God is calling you to do it, then go for it! Take that leap of faith!

God’s got your back, you don’t have to stress anymore.

After all, just like how we are striving to look deep inside everything in our lives, God sees deep inside of us. He isn’t ever distracted by the wrapper. He loves every part of you, and He knows that desire, the longing in the core of your being.

And I hope that desire is to be just like the One who sacrificed it all because of His unfailing love for us.

You’re worth so much more than you think.

For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

1 Sammuel 16:7