Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Day 14: Remember




You know I do not believe in coincidences. (I can hear those of you who have traveled along with me these past couple of months yelling at your screen “WE KNOW! Get on with it already!” But you yell with love, so I can take it )

Yesterday was a struggle with my fear and doubt that went from sun up to sun down. It was so utterly annoying to me because I KNOW God is good all of the time. I KNOW He provides what we need daily. I KNOW He loves us. But my heart just would not listen to what my head knew.
I woke up knowing today’s mercies are new, THANK YOU LORD, but asking Him the question how do I move forward from here?

I then read today’s If:Equip, Genesis 15 “After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord…you have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."(emphasis mine)

Oh my. Thank you, God for this gift today. I have been hearing in my Spirit from God these past few months like never before in my life. It has been such an experience for me that I have to tell anyone who will listen, and maybe even people that don’t want to listen! And yet yesterday, I had a pity party.
 
Today God sends me this message, “Hey, remember Abraham? My faithful servant from which David and Jesus descended? He saw and heard me in much more obvious ways than you, I had just given Him a victory in the chapter previous, and yet He responded to me with doubt, “But how can you do what you say?”

God did not respond to Abraham’s question in frustration. Instead, He lovingly understood him and what he needed to have peace. God responded to Abraham’s doubt and so in verse 6 “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” God didn’t sigh and begrudgingly accept Abraham’s belief after doubt, He CREDITED IT TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS! Then, this cracks me up, verse 7 God promises him land and what did Abraham do with that promise? He questions God again in the next verse, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I know…”  Good grief, Abraham! What is it going to take for you to get over your doubt? (That was me, not God responding.) So what does God do next? He asks Abraham to obey by gathering a sacrifice. He obeys, and he is rewarded with “knowing for certain” verse 13.
 
No, God did not ask me to gather a physical sacrifice yesterday when I questioned Him, Jesus paid that price for me, but God does ask us to obey, which can be a sacrifice depending on the situation, and He will provide the peace. 

I obeyed as best I knew how through my struggle, I prayed, read passages of scripture about God providing for His children, and waited without giving up. He provided what I needed to get through the day along with messages from friends and family that sustained, strengthened, and most importantly reminded me of God’s love. Remembering His love is so important on the dark, doubting days.

I think God is teaching me…helping me…providing for me this morning through this passage that ended up in my inbox. I always say I wish God would just text or email me His answers to my questions, I believe He did this morning.

He listens, He provides; we just need to have open eyes and hearts to be ready and accept His provision. Let’s help each other remember on the next dark day. 

What has God provided for you in the past that you need to remember today?

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
    to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
    quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
    to stick it out through the hard times. Lamentations 3:25-27

2 comments:

  1. A friend sent this to me this AM....thought of you..... "When God pushes you to the edge...trust Him fully b/c only two things can happen. Either He will catch you when you fall or He will teach you how to fly."

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    1. I love that, it sure is tough when you feel pushed though. I just need to REMEMBER the next part..He will catch or I'll fly... Thanks for the encouragement!

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