Week
5 Trust and Know
Day 31
Behind
and Before
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
Psalm 139:5 NLT
~~~
|
T
|
his phrase awoke me from a sound sleep at 2:30 a.m.:
"You can be of no use to your loved ones apart from
obedience."
I stumbled into my study room,
curled up on the little sofa, and pulled my computer onto my lap. I know I
don't have to record my conversations with the Lord in writing, but it is the
way I process my thoughts most clearly, and at 2:30 a.m. I very much felt in
need of clarity.
"Well, I am angry," I
wrote. And then I kept writing for quite a long time. I talked about the
injustices of, among other things, a twelve-year stint of caregiving for my
Alzheimer’s mom. I expounded on the subject of grief over all I'd hoped to do
with my life and about a really uncomfortable struggle to lay it all down for
the Lord. I ended with an extensive list of things that seemed
unfair. Then...
Lord: Are you done?
Linda: I guess. Obedience is
another word for survival for me now, isn’t it? You have got to show me how to
anesthetize my pain in You so I can break free of overeating.
Lord: A time of grief is
not the time to diet. This has been just a brief interlude in the midst of
your obedience journey, and is actually a part of the journey itself. Do
not be afraid.
Linda: I cannot toss my
common sense out the window, Lord...
Lord: I am giving you your
heart's desire; will you trust Me? I know your heart better than you do.
Trust in your heart precedes obedience in your actions.
Linda: I will trust
You.
Lord: Sometimes
the “freedom doorway” doesn’t look like what it is. Satan has shouted
“Servitude! You have been taken for granted and despised!” But I
tell you this: you have been loved. Submit
to Me and I will lift you up. Release your fear of the future. You are not
being locked into a box, you are being invited to cross a threshold. You
can't see what lies beyond, but I am there, and you will be well pleased.
God has saved us through our belief
in what Christ has done,[i] and
He looks at our hearts ahead of our actions. It is belief that fuels our trust
in God, and trust is the necessary foundation of obedience to Him. Through Jesus
Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, the God of all creation inhabits the
past, present and future. It is safe to place our trust in Him.
Pray: Father, today so many
circumstances in our world seem out of control.
Grief threatens, loss seems inevitable, and our hearts have been broken.
We bring our brokenness to You and place our trust for the future in You.
Forgive us for anticipating sorrow in a future we can’t see. Help us to live in You today, and trust You
for the future for ourselves and for those we love so dearly, in Jesus’ Name, amen.
~~~
It
is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or
forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Deuteronomy 31:8
Strength
for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
From the Hymn Great is thy Faithfulness
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