"Again the words flow through my mind like an annoying friend who won’t go away. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek Him in all you do and He will direct your steps.
I think the conclusion that this verse brings is not necessarily what I had assumed. Why do we trust? Because our lives are uncertain. In our wisdom we believe that trusting in God will eventually lead to the end of uncertainty. If I need a job, I trust that God will provide a job, not leave me in uncertainty. Yet I think that is often what God does, and not because it is some test to prove our trust. I think maybe it is because our uncertainty is too precious and too good for us to be taken away. Why would God reward our trust with the one thing that takes away our need to trust? Maybe He loves us too much to let us live in certainty and security.
Trust in God does not necessarily bring resolution. It may even build the tension of our already fragile lives. We may not get the job that is the answer to our financial problems. We may not find the person who will complete our lives. We may not figure out what that next step is before we are required to take it. Our problems may get worse, life may get harder; but still we must trust. It doesn’t say He will fill us in or ask our permission for each direction He takes us. He just says to trust Him. If we do He will direct our steps, and that is an encouraging thought."
Okay God, I hear you. "Get back on the horse."
I guess I'll try again tomorrow then.
November 28, 2006
November 14, 2006
:: all by myself ::
Yesterday I sneezed and said "excuse me"... but there was no one in the room.
(!)
*oh*
(!)
*oh*
November 06, 2006
:: lakefield guy - a true story ::
So I'm having this "God you rock" kind of night, and I hear this story. A story about a girl on one side of the world unknowningly praying for (and affecting) a guy (who later turned out be her husband) on the other side of the world. As I'm hearing this, I was sitting there thinking... "Wow. Cool story"... and that's when it hit me; I have a story like that!
During my last year of college my roommate, Karen, and I decided we should do something really big to celebrate our graduation, so we decided to go to Europe together that summer. As we were getting closer to the end of planning our crazy adventure, we started to imagine all the different people we would meet on our trip. Being the typical girls were, our conversation eventually lead to the possibility of romance.
She turned to me and asked, "What would you do if you met someone on our trip? Would 'what happens in Europe, stay in Europe' or would you consider a long-distance relationship?" She wasn't a Christian and I didn't feel like explaining to her (again) all the reasons why I was answering the way I did, so I just left it at "I'm not looking for a relationship so I don't think I'm going to worrying about that." But she persisted with 'what if', so I answered again, "Okay... IF he was from Canada, and IF he lived in Ontario... no wait... my hometown... then I MIGHT consider a relationship." And that was the end of that.
Fast forward to landing in England.
The morning of our departure from our hotel in London, we were in the elevator on our way down to the lobby and it stopped of the fourth floor. Two guys step inside and Karen notices they've got Canadian flags on their backpacks which, of course, lead to...
"Hey, are you Canadian?"
Guy in the elevator - "Ya."
Karen - "So are we!"
"Cool. Where are you from?"
"Ontario."
"So are we! Where about?"
"Toronto."
"Cool. I'm from Toronto, too. Actually, I live a few hours east of Toronto."
"Shut up. So do we!!! Where are do you live?"
"Peterborough."
"Shut up! So do we!!" (At this point my roommate was having a cow.)
But I was confused. Why did the girl standing right next to me look so... familiar...?!
A few seconds later, I'd jumped back inside myself just long enough to hear his next words... "Well, actually I'm from Lakefield." "SHUT UP!! Maeghan's from Lakefield!!!" As it turned out, he lived like 5 minutes from my house. *no joke*
Up until last Sunday night, I'd forgotten all about that moment in the elevator. I'd forgotten how I'd been so amazed by God's power (and sense of humor). At that time in my life, I was doubting whether or not my prayers were actually having any kind of affect. But you know what's even funnier about my real life story? I not only met "Lakefield Guy" in England, but I also ran into him again in Italy and Switzerland... and 3 weeks after our trip at the movie theater were I worked!
You know, it's pretty disgusting how quickly I doubt that my God isn't big enough. Or how quickly I dismiss that He even cares. Or how often I forget that He's got it all under control.
If I've learned anything this week, it's that I need to start praying for my future husband again.
During my last year of college my roommate, Karen, and I decided we should do something really big to celebrate our graduation, so we decided to go to Europe together that summer. As we were getting closer to the end of planning our crazy adventure, we started to imagine all the different people we would meet on our trip. Being the typical girls were, our conversation eventually lead to the possibility of romance.
She turned to me and asked, "What would you do if you met someone on our trip? Would 'what happens in Europe, stay in Europe' or would you consider a long-distance relationship?" She wasn't a Christian and I didn't feel like explaining to her (again) all the reasons why I was answering the way I did, so I just left it at "I'm not looking for a relationship so I don't think I'm going to worrying about that." But she persisted with 'what if', so I answered again, "Okay... IF he was from Canada, and IF he lived in Ontario... no wait... my hometown... then I MIGHT consider a relationship." And that was the end of that.
Fast forward to landing in England.
The morning of our departure from our hotel in London, we were in the elevator on our way down to the lobby and it stopped of the fourth floor. Two guys step inside and Karen notices they've got Canadian flags on their backpacks which, of course, lead to...
"Hey, are you Canadian?"
Guy in the elevator - "Ya."
Karen - "So are we!"
"Cool. Where are you from?"
"Ontario."
"So are we! Where about?"
"Toronto."
"Cool. I'm from Toronto, too. Actually, I live a few hours east of Toronto."
"Shut up. So do we!!! Where are do you live?"
"Peterborough."
"Shut up! So do we!!" (At this point my roommate was having a cow.)
But I was confused. Why did the girl standing right next to me look so... familiar...?!
A few seconds later, I'd jumped back inside myself just long enough to hear his next words... "Well, actually I'm from Lakefield." "SHUT UP!! Maeghan's from Lakefield!!!" As it turned out, he lived like 5 minutes from my house. *no joke*
Up until last Sunday night, I'd forgotten all about that moment in the elevator. I'd forgotten how I'd been so amazed by God's power (and sense of humor). At that time in my life, I was doubting whether or not my prayers were actually having any kind of affect. But you know what's even funnier about my real life story? I not only met "Lakefield Guy" in England, but I also ran into him again in Italy and Switzerland... and 3 weeks after our trip at the movie theater were I worked!
You know, it's pretty disgusting how quickly I doubt that my God isn't big enough. Or how quickly I dismiss that He even cares. Or how often I forget that He's got it all under control.
If I've learned anything this week, it's that I need to start praying for my future husband again.
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