Trusting God While Walking Through the Fire

I am constantly amazed at how God reveals himself to bring comfort, peace, and even discipline through scriptures. Have you ever prayed, "God will you please open their eyes and soften their hearts?" Well, I have! To be honest that is not a bad prayer, but most times when I pray these words I am not thinking, "God what can I learn from these circumstances or situation?" My prayer is for God to fix this individual or situation to my liking or comfort.

Just recently, God has revealed to me a "trust issue" via scripture. If you know me, then you know I am a control freak I like things done correctly, in an orderly fashion and in a timely manner (this is probably why I chose accounting as my major years ago). So when I pray, that is exactly what I am expecting from God. Answer my prayer my way! Here is the deal, we serve such an amazing God. He knows just how I am, He knows what I need and the time frame in which I need it, but when I try to tell God what He needs to do, my trust issue is revealed. Do I really trust God for who He is and what He says He will do? Apparently I do not, because lately that is just what He keeps revealing to me. My heart tells me to trust God, but my head tells me to move forward in my own will. It is so frustrating!

For Christmas, our son gave my husband and I devotionals. Today's devotional is titled, "No Matter What" and it was taken from Daniel 3:16-18. "Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it and he will rescue us from your hand, O king." Although these three boys were taken from their home and security, they trusted God no matter what! They were not willing to compromise their faith in God to anyone, not even King Nebuchadnezzar. Their faith and actions revealed their TRUST in God, even while walking through the fire.

If that is not enough, I was in a church service yesterday and the scripture was, Psalms 46:1-7, "God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, thought its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." The two points that the pastor shared are:

1. "God is always in control in every out-of-control situation."
2. "God is always in control of every out-of-control person."

God is always in control! All I have to do is trust Him the way that He wants me to. Just like Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego!

Father, my heart tells me to trust you with my whole being, no matter the circumstance, help me to be faithful and trust you in everything. Protect my thoughts and actions, help me to focus on WHO YOU ARE! Keep my heart and my thoughts equally connected to you.

Need Some Shake?

I love the fact that God saw fit to give us a small, beautiful blessing 13 years ago.....in the form of our youngest daughter, Jenny Beth. How would I describe her? She is beautiful, brown eyed, joyous, tells you what she thinks, lovable, and last but not least a head strong young lady. Jenny Beth has been pure joy from God. She is always smiling, even her eyes smile and dance! My Dad always says that he loves the way her eyes smile.

Jenny Beth has a glow about her that is hard to describe, but awesome to look at and enjoy, it is infectious. Mercy Me came out with a song "Shake" a few months back and I will never forget the first time we heard the song in the car! Jenny Beth turned the radio up and basically knew the chorus before the song was finished. WOW, God had given me in that very moment an opportunity to share with her what our salvation should mean to us. Then it hit me, like a ton of bricks! Do I relish in my salvation every day or am I so complacent that it is life as usual?  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" We all like new things. We get excited to wear them, drive them or just make sure everyone knows we have a  "new item", but we don't always portray the newness we have in Christ. By goodness, we are a NEW CREATION! If we know Christ as a our personal Lord and Savior, we have something GRAND to be excited about....enough to "Shake"!

My walk as a Christian should be joyous. I should be so excited about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that my life should reflect it. I should have the "glow" that Jenny Beth has when she sings "Shake"! My life should be so full of joy that when others look at me, they will want what I have. My prayer for you and I is Psalms 51: 10-12 , "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

If you need some "pick me up" music, you should most definitely listen to "Shake". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJFA5Bitv7w   JUST "SHAKE LIKE YOU'VE BEEN CHANGED." Thank you Jesus for using my children to remind me of your goodness.

A New Walk of Life

Esther 4:14, has come to be one of my favorite verses. It states, " For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. AND WHO KNOWS BUT THAT YOU HAVE COME TO ROYAL POSITION FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS." In this particular passage Mordecai, Esther's uncle is trying to persuade her to go before the king and plead for the very life of Israel.

As two of my children have entered into a new phase of their life with college, I am reminded by this passage that I have been set in this position for "such a time as this". My goal and I believe God's purpose with this blog is to encourage and lift other mothers up. I do not have all of the answers and actually as I am writing, I am struggling as a "MOM" to trust God with all of my heart. I know, I know, my secret is out. What must you be thinking? 

I always thought I would be prepared to enter this phase of my life with joy, excitement and relief, but I never anticipated the anxiety I would have. My husband and I have raised our children to love God, but now they are having to claim their own faith and not Mommy and Daddy's. This is where the "rubber hits the road". Their faith as we know it, is being defined. As parents, we want them to get it, to trust God that he will move mountains, but yet when your child is entering into the world....I have to question, do we (I) trust the God that says he will move mountains if I have faith?

I am defining today, that I will trust God. Proverbs 3:5-6 clearly states God's command to me and His promise. In this passage it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." My prayer is that you and I will enter into this journey of blogging trusting God and embracing the position we are currently in, for "who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this."

Tyler Ard - Liberty University
Biblical Studies w/ Psychology

Sara Lynn Ard - University of Central Florida
Political Science w/ Pre-Law