July 11th, 2018 - Thoughts for your Week

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91: 1-2

Two weeks ago, my uncle passed away. While this wasn’t a complete surprise, the timing was earlier than expected. Last week I went to Kelowna with my dad to pack up my uncle’s things and settle his affairs. Knowing he didn’t have much and that he had made a will, we gave ourselves three days to do this. It all hinged, of course, on us finding his will. By the second day, we’d been through all his things and still had no will. Our hope began to sink, and panic kicked in. How were we supposed to settle anything without his will? We prayed to find it, but never did. I took a step back and tried to see it through God’s eyes. What was He planning here? Why was this already difficult thing becoming almost unbearable? I asked Him for wisdom and realized because we didn’t find the will, we’d had to reach out to family members we hadn’t talked to in long while. We revived connections that had been lost over the years. And He was so faithful in providing help AS we needed it. If we’d found the will, we would have missed out on all this. 

But God had His plan and it was so much better than ours. Even though His way was much harder, more complicated, and felt chaotic at times, it had led to the opportunity to show the love of Jesus. Our plan had been to get in and get out to minimize any additional pain of loss. His plan was to get in, make relationship, heal our hearts, and teach us to trust His ways and timing instead of ours.

What areas of your life are feeling chaotic and out of control? Ask Him for the wisdom to see what His plan is, and for acceptance of it. The more we trust, the more we grow in our relationship with Him. This process of sanctification is the path we must all walk. And it’s so worth it!

Excerpt from “The Hidden Life” Awakened newsletter by Betty Skinner…

"There is within us all this strong desire for the freedom to live and be whole, but it takes enormous courage and discipline to make the choice to trust God and do the difficult work this requires. We must be willing to look at our entrenched behavior patterns that we innocently created from our self-protective fears and perceptions of life. Once we are aware of them we can name them, so we can begin to tame them. These habitual ways of being are so hard to break because they are deeply rooted in our childhood wounds. Taking those initial steps toward change can be frightening and painful. The old voices in our head tell us it won’t work, things will only get worse, and we’re wasting our time. But the new Voice in our heart tells us that if we don’t change, we won’t grow. Change and growth are synonymous. Gradually as we develop new patterns, the work becomes easier, and we will slowly begin to see our life bear fruit. Failure to dare to change will keep us trapped. So dare to let go, trust God, and make the choice to change, regardless of how hard it is."

Take time now to read and meditate on Psalm 91.

•       Read the verses quietly to yourself and sit with them in silence. Listen for a word or phrase and focus on that for a few minutes. Write down that word or phrase.
•         Read the verses again and think about how your life is touched by this word or phrase He has given you. Consider what this word is saying to you. Write it down.
•         Read the verses again and think about what God is inviting you to do through this word or phrase. What action does He want you to take? Write it down.

In closing: Take some time now to thank Him for the words He has given you. Ask for the courage to do what He's called you to do.