God is Faithful

It’s easy to say, “Give your cares to the Lord and trust Him” when everything in life seems to be going well.  It’s easy to say, “I trust you Lord with everything I own” when bills are paid on time and when you just got a promotion at work.

However, if God striped you of everything you own; If God told you to leave the very job that’s paying your bills, will you trust the Lord enough to do it?  Will you trust God even when you don’t understand; even when life hurts?  If God told you to leave the familiar and enter the unfamiliar, will you trust Him?

For many of you, God has done just that.  He has taken you from what’s “oh so familiar” and redirected your paths into the unfamiliar.  You don’t understand what’s happening in your life; what to do or where to go.  The only thing you know is that the Lord gave you a word (instruction, a promise, vision, etc) and the only thing you have to hold on to is that word.

I understand the feeling, I really do; you're not alone. Just remember that God is doing things in your life even though you don't feel it.

Consider the source

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” –Revelation 22:13

Who else can say that but God?  No one, only God can say such a thing.  God knows everything: the past, current and future and our knowledge and understanding doesn’t even compare to the knowledge and understanding of God –  even when it applies to our own life.

Furthermore, when you don’t understand what God is doing in your life, consider the source – Who is it that you’re trusting; God or yourself?

Here is something to remember.  Man is fallible; we fall short and at times we’re unable to keep our promises.  Man can give you instructions that are misleading and imperfect.  With God, none of these things are possible.  God keeps His promises, God gives you right instructions according to His perfect will and He won’t mislead you.

No matter how much you don’t understand life as it is right now; no matter how uncomfortable it may seem or how hard it gets, don’t give up.  If God is with you -  the same God who spoke life into you, the same God who IS and knows the beginning and the end, the same God who knew you before the foundation of this world -is with you, then ask yourself who or WHAT can stand against you.

Consider the source and seek to be obedient to the Lord, even when you don t understand what God is doing in your life; don’t worry about “this or that” because God has provisions for you.

Trust the Lord 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding" -Proverbs 3:5

When you learn to trust the Lord, you will begin to have a sense of rest in the Lord knowing that He has everything under control even when life seems to be out of control.  Trusting God will get you to the point where you make a decision to trust in Him and NOT in your own logic and understanding.

We must make a decision to trust Him regardless of how scary the situation may seem.  Trusting God doesn’t prevent you from being in uncomfortable situations but it does allow you to be placed in a position where you seek the Lord’s presence, provisions, guidance and promises.

I encourage you to stop stressing yourself out- losing sleep, being weary, anxious, worried, depressed and sad.  Don’t try to understand the ways of God because it is impossible for you to understand His decisions and ways! (Romans 11:33). The natural man cannot understand the things of God.  For God’s ways are higher than mans, they are past finding out and this is why we must make a decision to trust our all knowing God.

Be Obedient

The bible states that “obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22)” which should tell you a lot about our God.  God places significance on obedience.  He’ll much rather you be obedient to His instruction than for you to give Him sacrificial praise, money offerings, fasting and etc.

Why do I bring obedience up?  Because when God gives you instruction and you’re in a situation where you don’t understand what’s going on in your life, you need to be reminded to be obedient and to trust in the one who does understand – Christ.   There are blessings that follow a person who is obedient.

God will lead you

The Lord has said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” –Genesis 12:1

God told Abraham to leave everything he knew; everything he was familiar with and to enter into the unfamiliar.  God told him to go into a land which he will show him which meant Abraham didn’t know where he was going; He only had the instruction of the Lord to depend on.  Abraham could have easily said, “God, where will I go; what will I eat and drink”, but he didn’t.  He chose to trust God and be obedient and as Christians we must learn to do the same.

“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going” –Hebrew 11:8

As much as we would like God to give us “what where when and how” upfront all the time (all in one shot), God does not operate like that.  Sometimes, God will place you in a satiation where you have to trust Him and He’ll give you piece by piece as you obey and trust Him.

As a person who’s been in this situation, I will tell you that this only increases your faith as you learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

Trusting God when you don’t understand

I don’t know what your story is (your more than welcome to share it below), but I encourage you to trust God even when you don t understand what’s happening in your life.

You may not understand life and all that’s happening; but God will give you a piece to the puzzle as you learn to step out on faith, trust and obey him.

Don't let the devil fool you into believing that you're taking a step backwards in life or that you'll  never make it out of this situation; because you will. What you're going through is temporary.

And that’s what I am doing right now. Believing that He is faithful and His will fulfill His purpose in my life.

Just remember that He has whole box of promises with your name on it. Have faith, trust in Him and accept it :)

I re-learned hope and trust.

I got a short message from one of my friend today. The message was about hope. Hope when looking into a future that the world says is “hopeless”. Hope when the world is posting billboards about fear.

I have always known that my hope should rest in God and that I should set my eyes on Him. But, like any stubborn woman, I could hardly grasp this until I was repeatedly bopped in the head with it. Very recently I was handed a situation that could make my future look pretty dim. This one situation and circumstance could alter so many things about my financial situation and my living situation. It could literally wipe away my independence.

But wait, I’m not independent. I am completely and fully dependent on my Father.

But me with my “independence” often ended up asking, “How does this happen? Why does this happen? Why can’t I stop it?”

For the last, well I don’t know how long, I was drowning in this never ending frustration. Not a lot of people know about it, because I am great in putting a mask and a smile. But I’ve been struggling a lot with family problems and finances, until now. I can’t really explain how much pain that I’ve been going through but it’s so heavy and it makes me cry almost every single night, thinking and crying “Where are You, o God? I think I am lost.”

I wrote about lies and deception last week, and still struggling about it. I am not perfect and will never be perfect. And these lies about “God doesn’t care. He’s too busy. You are totally lost. You are screwed. You’re worthless. Etc” keeps running around inside my head. And somehow I am tired to fight over it, and believe that I am totally lost.

And then God whispered: “No Stephanie, you’re not lost. Hear me clearly, you are not lost. I am with you and I know where we’re going. I know the way home and I’ll take you there.”

Then I said: “I am afraid. I am worried. Everything seems so blurry.”

”I know. I know what you feel. I know your struggles. Please take My hand. I know exactly where we’re going. I am with you and will always be with you, always.”

I've had this kind of conversation thousands of times. I can’t even count it. And I am amazed. Again and again He brings me into the light. He gives me hope. And He never gave up on me. He keeps calling me to trust Him. He wants me. Even though so many times I fell, so many times I doubt His mighty power; so many times I didn’t trust Him; and so many other things, He is still passionate about me.

Why is it so hard for me to trust Him? Why is it so hard for me to hope? Because I believe that I can’t trust if I don’t hope and I can’t hope if I don’t trust.

Little children trust their parents. For example, when they’re playing with their dad and then their dad throwing them into the air they believe that their dad will catch them.  And they will ask for more. They have faith in their dad. They trust him.

And why is it so hard for me to trust my Heavenly Father? The One who created me and calls me by name. He knows how much hair that I have.

“Let Me singing over you with joy, Stephanie.”

And peace comes like rain all over me. Full of hope.

God did not make His people to be people of despair and struggle. He made us to thrive and succeed and love. He built us with instruments to worship Him for the good He does for us. He has promised us a place of unimaginable beauty. A place where darkness does not reside and where fear and hurt do not visit. We live in a world where sin has entered and disrupted what God planned for us.

But we are told to not fear because God has promised these things to us. Circumstances do not change who we are in Christ and it does not change Hi promises to us. Just because something looks terrible and makes us ache inside, it does not mean we will live that way forever. God has promises for us on this earth and beyond this earth. He wants to bring us good gifts. He promises to bring gifts.

And our God is a promise keeper.

MercyMe sings a song titled “Bring the Rain”. There is a line in that song, “Lord I know there’ll be days when this life brings me pain, but if that’s what it takes to praise You, Jesus, bring the rain.”

I don’t enjoy the pain and the bad circumstances but, in the midst of my mess, I understand that one of two things will happen; God will handle the situation and take it out of my life or, I will face the problem head on and He will protect my future and open doors later on in life.

I have never experienced a hope like I am experiencing now. My circumstances look bad. They are even bit frightening and are peeking around each corner. But deep inside, I know that this mountain is not too big for my God. My Father is not surprised by the situation and He has already taken care of it. He already has plan for my future. My Father, my awesome and loving God, has whole box of promises with my name on it, and He is patiently waiting for me to have faith and accept them.

I re-learned unconditional love

As a descendant of Eve, I'm curious why deception and lies are easier to believe than truth and faith. And if that statement sounds absurd, that's because it is. But please do remember how her situation went...

"Eve, I love you and I want you to have a beautiful life. Please do not eat from that tree right over there, but please do delight yourself in all that I have given you."

"Hey, Eve. You wanna? It's fine, He lied. You'll be smart..."

And I think we all know what happened at the end of that story. The poor girl was deceived. Tricked! She fell. Just like I do.

But why? Why are lies and trickery so appealing and why is it easier for us to believe in? Is it because "the thoughts of human hearts are only evil all the time" (Gen 6:5)? Or is it because "the serpent is more crafty than all other animals" (Gen 3:1)? Or is it because sneaky, snide comments sound better than soft, sweet words?

In reality, it's probably because deception and lies produce a quick, fast, easy fix, while truth and faith require more of a "wait and see" approach.

Noah had about 950 years to "wait and see" while we continue to hear "life is short, make the most of it".

Noah had many, many years to see what God had up his sleeve.

Noah had a million more days to watch God's promises come to pass.

We keep hearing and believing, we hardly have any time and therefore we've got to make our own good things happen.

And I only know this because I know me. I know my desires to have things happen today, right away and to know how things will end up. I want to know that everything will be okay and I want to have all of it as soon as possible. So, of course my initial instinct isn't to wait. My initial instinct is to take care of the problem and find good things on my own.

But I am too weak, too hasty and have too little knowledge of the big picture to figure it out on my own. I want life to be a little happier and easier? Yep, we all do. I want to have the fairy tale I always dreamed of? So did Eve. But no one ever got anywhere trying to make their own destiny, did they?

I did that so many times, trying to make my own destiny. And every time I do that I end up more broken.

I wanted this. I asked for this. I prayed for this. I begged God for this. I am blessed. I am fed, clothed and sheltered. I am loved. I am the recipient of the greatest gift in the universe. I have everything . I know this. What is wrong with me?

So many times I ended up sobbing and asking God if I'd done the right thing. If everything was going to be okay. If I would feel Him again like I used to. If I would learn to be close to Him all over again. If this would be too hard for me.

And this is what He said to me recently when I'm starting to get worried about my life:

"Seriously, Stephanie? I have stripped depression away from you. I have removed you from the place you didn't want to be. I have set you free from all of your addictions. I gave you passion again. I gave you new friends who know my love. I gave you a man that you love, who loves you. I let you travel out from your country. I did miracles in front of you. I gave you Family. I gave you new home. I gave you hope. I gave you love, My love. And you ask where I've been? If this is right? If I still love you?

I saw Him again. I heard Him again, where I should have heard Him a dozen times before. We forget what He has done when we do not intentionally sit at His feet in our mess. We are blind, until we ask Him to let us see. I re-learned unconditional love.

There'a a lesson is learning to trust here. And there's a lesson in learning to "go with the flow". But perhaps the biggest lesson is knowing that God loves me and wants me to have a beautiful life, with a beautiful purpose and to one day live in His beautiful kingdom. He's already got the plan and the layout, all He asked me to do do was to trust and listen and obey.