I guess I talk about death too much!
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Learning to Trust God
Well, as you can see, it's been a LONG while since I posted to this blog. Life has been running me lately, and I just haven't had time.
Learning to Trust God. That's what I am trying to do right now. It seems we all go through the ups and downs of life, and in those "up" times, it's relatively easy to trust Him, we can feel His presence in our lives in so many ways. But what about the seasons of our lives when God seems absent, when it feels like the world is pushing at you from all sides, when you feel like everything is collapsing in your life?
That's where I have been for the last several months, in the wilderness, not feeling God's presence in my day to day life, feeling alone. We own a family business that's in it's 61st year in business, but the Michigan economy has made it quite difficult the last few years to get by. My wife, daughter, and myself have really struggled with what WE can do to turn things around, how WE can change things, what course of action WE can take to make the store a success once again. What WE haven't been able to do is to trust God in this, to put it into His hands.
I began teaching a class this spring quarter on the book of 1 Kings, and God really opened my eyes. When you look at the lives of the kings of Judah and Israel, it becomes clear that the things that WE can do are pretty insignificant, it's what HE can do that matters. It doesn't matter what WE can do, because HE can do anything! The good Godly kings of Judah recognized this, while the bad and oftentimes evil kings of Israel always seemed to put their faith in their own abilities.
So, I have put my trust in Him, and I am starting to see evidence that God is working in my life again, that He is turning things around, that He is God and I am not. In our study in 1 Kings, we have been using the Warren Wiersbe "Be Responsible" study material, and he has a great quote at the end of the book: "Responsibility is our response to God's ability".
What a great way to see it! I can continue to put my faith and trust in my own abilities and watch my world collapse around me, or I can respond to God's ability to do wonderful things in my life. So even though we are still in a time of uncertainty, with many trials ahead, I know that God is with us.
Learning to Trust God. That's what I am trying to do right now. It seems we all go through the ups and downs of life, and in those "up" times, it's relatively easy to trust Him, we can feel His presence in our lives in so many ways. But what about the seasons of our lives when God seems absent, when it feels like the world is pushing at you from all sides, when you feel like everything is collapsing in your life?
That's where I have been for the last several months, in the wilderness, not feeling God's presence in my day to day life, feeling alone. We own a family business that's in it's 61st year in business, but the Michigan economy has made it quite difficult the last few years to get by. My wife, daughter, and myself have really struggled with what WE can do to turn things around, how WE can change things, what course of action WE can take to make the store a success once again. What WE haven't been able to do is to trust God in this, to put it into His hands.
I began teaching a class this spring quarter on the book of 1 Kings, and God really opened my eyes. When you look at the lives of the kings of Judah and Israel, it becomes clear that the things that WE can do are pretty insignificant, it's what HE can do that matters. It doesn't matter what WE can do, because HE can do anything! The good Godly kings of Judah recognized this, while the bad and oftentimes evil kings of Israel always seemed to put their faith in their own abilities.
So, I have put my trust in Him, and I am starting to see evidence that God is working in my life again, that He is turning things around, that He is God and I am not. In our study in 1 Kings, we have been using the Warren Wiersbe "Be Responsible" study material, and he has a great quote at the end of the book: "Responsibility is our response to God's ability".
What a great way to see it! I can continue to put my faith and trust in my own abilities and watch my world collapse around me, or I can respond to God's ability to do wonderful things in my life. So even though we are still in a time of uncertainty, with many trials ahead, I know that God is with us.
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