"Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?.... Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?"
~ Job 38:8, 16
~ Job 38:8, 16
I finished two very sweet books in the past couple of days (A Path Less Traveled by Cathy Bryant and Give the Lady a Ride by Linda Yezak), and I was blessed by a wonderful truth reaffirmed in both of these books: God is trustworthy. Both of these books shared these verses:
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
~ Proverbs 3:5-6
~ Proverbs 3:5-6
I confess that I've seen these verses often, and because of that I don't think I always pay as much attention to them as I should when I read them or hear them. But the truth is that it doesn't matter how "familiar" God's word becomes to us--we still have much we need to learn from it.
Thinking more about these verses, I've been reminded of the words: "in all thy ways acknowledge him." Lately the focus for me has been on my writing. I know I need to trust in His guidance and His will for my story that I recently finished writing (the first draft, anyway!) and any possible future stories He may want me to write. Of course, this is a constant struggle, and I need God's help to remain humble--open to help and open to His direction.
But it's not just in my writing that I need to learn to trust God. I need to trust Him with school, with my friends and family, with my hopes, etc.
My dear friend Casey at Writing for Christ had a post series on her blog this past week about purity and trusting God's timing and will for those of us who have yet to meet that "special someone."
Last night as others at my school were out at different social events and I stayed in my dorm room, I felt overwhelmed with confusion and longing. As much as I want to be happy for others, it sometimes hurts to be single. I wonder if I'm undesirable. I wonder if I'll always be single. I wonder why I even let it bother me so much.
But I need to trust God in all my ways. How the Lord can be so merciful and patient with me is amazing! One moment I can feel so at peace about my life, and the next I can be consumed with self-pity.
Yet God doesn't change. The God who showed Job who was in control of all things (including the vast and deep sea) is the same God who is walking beside me each day. He is sovereign and completely trustworthy, and I can always rest in His faithfulness, knowing that He can see far beyond my limited vision.
He is trustworthy.
(Picture is from PDPhoto.org. Also note that my review of A Path Less Traveled will be posted here on Tuesday, and my review of Give the Lady a Ride will be posted on The Borrowed Book on Monday.)
Thinking more about these verses, I've been reminded of the words: "in all thy ways acknowledge him." Lately the focus for me has been on my writing. I know I need to trust in His guidance and His will for my story that I recently finished writing (the first draft, anyway!) and any possible future stories He may want me to write. Of course, this is a constant struggle, and I need God's help to remain humble--open to help and open to His direction.
But it's not just in my writing that I need to learn to trust God. I need to trust Him with school, with my friends and family, with my hopes, etc.
My dear friend Casey at Writing for Christ had a post series on her blog this past week about purity and trusting God's timing and will for those of us who have yet to meet that "special someone."
Last night as others at my school were out at different social events and I stayed in my dorm room, I felt overwhelmed with confusion and longing. As much as I want to be happy for others, it sometimes hurts to be single. I wonder if I'm undesirable. I wonder if I'll always be single. I wonder why I even let it bother me so much.
But I need to trust God in all my ways. How the Lord can be so merciful and patient with me is amazing! One moment I can feel so at peace about my life, and the next I can be consumed with self-pity.
Yet God doesn't change. The God who showed Job who was in control of all things (including the vast and deep sea) is the same God who is walking beside me each day. He is sovereign and completely trustworthy, and I can always rest in His faithfulness, knowing that He can see far beyond my limited vision.
He is trustworthy.
(Picture is from PDPhoto.org. Also note that my review of A Path Less Traveled will be posted here on Tuesday, and my review of Give the Lady a Ride will be posted on The Borrowed Book on Monday.)
4 comments:
Hi Amber:
Your “Sunday by the Sea” is always my favorite. Your message hits home. I posted on F.A.I.T.H. the other day that it is easy to believe in God but not so easy to trust in Him. There is a big difference between belief and trust.
I like your comment about the Bible and seeing things as if for the first time. This experience is behind the Eastern saying: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
When you are at a ‘life stage’ where you are ready to understand life at a more experienced level, old passages in the Bible will take on new meaning. You will never stop learning and deriving new insights from the Bible.
At your age, experientially, you are closer to being a child than an adult. It is hard to referee your internal feelings with so few games under your belt. Half of falling in love is falling in love with yourself. How much of who you love is you and how much is really the other person. You not only have to find the right person, you have to be the right person. Why would you think this would happen quickly? How close are you now to being the person you will become in a few short years?
Your feelings are valid for where you are now but the yardstick by which you measure their meaning is in constant flux as your gain more experience.
Become a fully human, fully alive, child of God, and the right person will appear but it will be in God’s time. Let go, let God.
And be a young person. Enjoy your youth.
Vince
Oh Amber, your post blessed me so very much, my friend. Thank you for sharing those verses with us. You’re right with what you said about becoming too “familiar” with God’s Word that you don’t pay it the kind of attention you should. I feel the same way sometimes! Verses like Proverbs 3:5-6 are ones I memorized as a child and sometimes I forget the power and truth they hold, and worse still, sometimes even forget to apply them…
I know and feel exactly what you mean by all those “single” doubts and questions. I admit there are many times I forget to trust the Lord and get a little anxious with wondering when a prince on noble steed is going to ride in - *cups hand around ear and leans towards window* … nope, still no hoof beats… But, God is in control and any doubts and questions are from the enemy. A line from the song “Time In Between” by Francesca Battistelli just came to mind: “The enemy of my soul says You`re holding out on me.” Our God does not hold out on His children. He knows what we need, when we need it because He can, like you said, see far beyond our limited vision. He also loves us with an everlasting love that only wants the best for us. He is so good :)
Thank you again for this post, my friend. I know the Lord has a wonderful, handsome, God-loving, strong Christian man out there that He created just for you! You are beautiful inside and out, and whoever gets you will be blessed indeed! Embrace your season of singleness, my friend, for the Lord has you in it for such a time as this. The Lord has ALL things under control, all we have to do is trust Him, commit our ways to Him, and seek Him first, and He will give us the desires of our hearts :)
Blessings,
Amanda
P.S. – Just sent you an email! ;)
Vince,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoy the "Sunday by the Sea" devotional posts.
What you have said makes a lot of sense, and as hard as that can be to recognize while I'm at this age, it is true that I'm still very young. I really appreciate your words of advice. There are many times I'm grateful for my singleness--it is truly wonderful to embrace this time in my life and focus on what God is doing right now. :) And for those times when I respond ungratefully and impatiently...I'm so thankful for God's patience and forgiveness! In a relationship trust is so important, and even though God is Lord of all and doesn't need to prove anything to me, I'm glad that He works so obviously in my life to remind me of His faithfulness. :)
Also, I wanted to add that I heard that saying before when I was training in Jujitsu! A good reminder of the importance of timing. :)
Thanks again!
~Amber
Amanda,
I'm humbled and grateful that this post blessed you, my friend--you know that your comments and e-mails always bless me! :)
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and encouragement here. You are so right about God's goodness. He doesn't hold out on us--in fact, He gives us so much more than we deserve (or perhaps even realize)! We serve an amazing God. His love is the only love that truly fills the longing of our hearts. :)
Thank you again for your inspiring comment! I know whatever man God has for you is very blessed, too, my friend! :D
~Amber
P.S. Thank you for your e-mail! I'll hopefully respond soon. ;)
Post a Comment