Lisa Cline's Blog, page 63

God tells us to do this…because He will…

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. ~ Joshua 1:9

How trusting God caused my world to come crashing in

This the update to my “A Christmas Miracle” blog post. For those that did not read it…basically God led me to have nothing prepared for Christmas for my family.

And to spend my money on other (needed) things and to trust Him to make it right.

Because I have four children (who are not so little anymore but still live at home), and because those children are used to getting spoiled at Christmas (even when I cannot afford it), this caused me great anxiety.

Every time I thought of how (potentially) my last Christmas with my children all under one roof would be an empty one, I began to feel like my world was crashing in around me.

But Faith

Yet I kept coming back to faith…simple, uncomplicated faith!

How could I trust Jesus to “save” me when I refused to trust Him to feed me. How could I trust him for all eternity when I could not trust him for one Christmas?

On my own I was shaky so I had to get back to solid ground.

I got out my Bible and read about how

The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him

[who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him]

will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.

(Romans 10:11 Amplified version).

I thought of all the people watching how all this “trusting God” business is going to play out… I realized that trusting God for Christmas is just a trial run for England and the rest of my future.

So I just allowed Him  the space He needed to show His goodness.

Any boy did He ever!

The Result

In the interest of brevity (something I am told is important in a blog post, and is something I am not very good at) I will just say that not only did God provide for every need we had (food, drink, etc) but He also took the focus off of the things and put it on our time together (not to mention Him).

As a result I spent two solid days hanging out with my family and talking and laughing…

We also went bowling…yes bowling. We are not big bowlers but we went on Christmas eve…at God’s leading…so much fun! And so many beautiful moments…like when I watched one child help another…so cool.

The Topper

And to top it off, God made sure there was a present for each of us under the tree…they were beyond awesome…mine made me cry because it is something I have wanted for a very long time.

There was a defining moment when we watched something on tv and one of the main characters said something like “people don’t often realize when they are living them, that one day these will be the moments that they wish they could re-live .”

Then it hit me

What gift God gave to me.

The Gift

The gift of foresight. How being able to drink in every second and really live in the moment with my beloved family.

In the hustle and bustle of Christmas, and daily living,  so many great moments often go unnoticed.  This gift of clarity has been a wake up call to me. I pray that I steward this gift well.

One Last Thing

He showed me that just as a bowling pins scatter, they are always made straight and set upright in the end…just like those who trust in Him.

Is your world crashing in around you? Trust in Gods good plan for your life and you will not be put to shame.

 

Photo = © cherezoff – Fotolia.com

God Loves Us! Here is How We Can Tell

   ““For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”” (John 3:16–21, NLT)  

A pile of bills, A choice, and A path made straight.

It doesn’t matter what is going on in the world, those who trust in God do not have to be led by their circumstances.

Because those who trust in God are people who learn to look by faith and not by sight.

For example, as I was getting prepared to start back up in school after the summer break, I started running short of money.

I knew that God did not want me to quit school, so I prayed and felt that he told me to stand firm.

When I looked with my natural eyes at my bills that started to pile up, I was tempted to freak out, and get a job (probably minimum wage) that would almost pay the bills, if I was lucky.

I knew that I could not put in the forty-plus hours a week that my university required of me and keep a job too, so I asked God in prayer if He wanted me to drop out and He strongly answered no.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. ~ Psalm 125:1

About a week later when taking my morning prayer walk, I kept hearing the word grant over and over, so I got a clue, and found out about a grant that my college had.

I applied and was accepted in an hour. It is enough extra money to keep me going for a while.

And that is how God works. He wants us to not act out of our circumstances but out of our trust in Him.

http://iamtrustinggod.com/to-know-god-as-father/

Photo by © freshidea – Fotolia.com

This man did what?

Not many people enjoy going to the doctor, but according to Reuters, in 1994, one London accountant took that to an extreme. The sixty-three-year-old man knew he needed bladder surgery but he could not overcome his fear of doctors and hospitals. So he self-reliantly did what had to be done: He tried to perform the surgery on himself. Tragically he got an infection from the self-surgery and later died. The coroner said, “Unfortunately, [his] drastic remedy went wrong. A simple operation would have solved the problem.”

Just as this man didn’t trust doctors or hospitals, many people don’t trust God. In their self-reliance, they destroy themselves.

 

Story taken from

Contemporary Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers, & Writers Editor Craig Brian Larson, Baker Books, p. 272.

Why trusting God is important

   “Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken!’ ”” (Jeremiah 39:18, NLT)  

 

God is faithful

   “God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ” (1 Corinthians 1:9, AMP)  

When trusting God seems to hard…watch this

I refuse to do it anymore!

I refuse to look behind me and be ashamed.

I refuse to look around me and be dismayed.

I refuse to look in front of me and be fearful.

I, as a Christian, am called to put my trust in Jesus Christ and believe, really believe that He will:

Make something beautiful out of the shattered glass of my past.

Be with me and make a way in my present.

and not allow the enemy the final word in my future.

When  I stop trusting in the goodness of God,

when I stop believing that He will show up and show out in my life,

when I stop trusting that He knows the end from the beginning,

and that He knows what my future holds and is the one who holds my future

When I stop trusting God,

The enemy will have won

And I REFUSE to give him the victory anymore!

Mother Teresa says it best

“Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything.”

Mother Teresa