All in Trust
If I asked you to take a picture of something representing God’s mercy, what would your photo include? Would it be a selfie of you and your friend hugging—the friend you had previously hurt with your words. Would you take a picture of the warning you received from the police officer instead of a speeding ticket?
Sarah laughed but it was laughter of doubt, as if to say… “Ha, that is not happening!”
Has God ever told you something that seemed laughable?
In my plans for big events this year, my husband and I wanted a vacation for his 60th birthday.
But God made it clear that His will for my husband was that he was to have surgery to remove cancer from his body on his birthday.
Have you ever felt unloved?
Genesis 29 unfolds the story of Leah, who was married to a man who loved someone else. God saw Leah in her unloved state and opened her womb. She gave birth to Jacob’s first-born son, Reuben, and declared, “…the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now” (Genesis 29:32).
A loud thump on our front door shattered our peace and quiet as we relaxed one evening. We looked but could not find anything. Before the evening expired my husband had ordered a ring doorbell for our front porch.
With a ring doorbell a person gets messages on their phone to alert them of any movement picked up on the front porch camera. The message displayed: “There is motion at your front Door.”
Thorns… I don’t like them.
Recently, I was caught in a fight with multiple vine-like thorn bushes while trying to clear an area of land. The more I wrestled with them, the more they caught my clothes and circled around me… like a live animal attacking. I cried out for help!
As I began this year, I prayed to the Lord to show me a word that He wants me to focus on for this year. And He brought to mind the word… Surrender.
Really—Fear? Who in the world would choose “fear” as their word for the year? But that is the word that dawned on me as my girlfriends and I began a journey through Kathy Howard’s Before His Throne* Bible study in January.
The freedom to take breaks whenever I choose ranks as a treasured retirement perk. Strategically placed rocking chairs testify to that priority.
“How do you cope with all these unanswered questions and still smile?” she asked. My answer surprised her. “I don’t ask God why. I ask how? How God can you use this season to draw me closer to You?”
When our conversation ended, I thought about how Noah built an ark before a drop of rain fell; the Red Sea didn’t part until Moses put his foot in the water; and Esther used her gifts of diplomacy and compassion to save a nation.
Recently, I was walking behind a grandmother holding her granddaughter’s toddler- hand.
The hands intertwined were a precious picture… two extreme ages, with the aged lending strength to stabilize the young.
The visual made me realize… aging is not what I expected.
The tiny pond needed fish and could provide the perfect habitat for Koi, those large multi-colored goldfish. Feeding them would provide such fun for the grandkids. The adventure began with four Koi fingerlings.
We were hiking through a mountain forest in Colorado and we came to a flowing stream. At first, we did not see a way across without getting our shoes completely wet. We thought we would have to turn back. I quickly prayed… asking Jesus for help. We looked at the rocks again, and now could see a path of rocks that stood above the water. The rock path seemed to suddenly appear and we used those rocks to cross to the other side.
I used to think that God didn’t want me to ask Him to help me with the small things in life because I thought prayer was reserved for only the big things.
The change in Habakkuk has been profound. In the company of God, in awe and praise of the Holy One, the prophet has regained his spiritual balance. Even if he’s still shaking in his boots, he has relinquished control: Yet I will wait patiently! (3:16). Judah will be exiled in Babylon for 70 years, but they will return. Babylon will be overthrown.
From his position on the ramparts (2:1) Habakkuk receives the revelation from the LORD. Yes, Judah will pay for her sins at the hand of Babylon. In turn, woe upon woe will be piled upon Babylon (2:6-19). “The LORD is in his holy temple” (2:20) indeed!
Habakkuk—one of those books in the Bible I need the index to find, and cannot spell unless I pronounce each “k” separately. Mercy me! In the days before the southern kingdom fell to Babylon (586 BC), the prophet Habakkuk’s heart was broken over the apparent triumph of evil over righteousness. Decency and peace were crumbling everywhere. Kind of makes us think of society today.
Few things are as soothing for me as watching waves crash on a beach. But the seamless shoreline of peace and harmony can only be created by an endless cycle of giving and taking.
Most of us don’t think of sacrifice as a place of safety. Sacrifice is where we feel fragile and vulnerable (aka, the opposite of safe). I don’t know about you, but I seem to have an obsession with safety in my life. I pick jobs that make me feel safe, I pick people who make me feel safe, I spend money in ways that make me feel safe…
