it's just going to get better
January 1, 2015
It's the new year! And the first thing God told me this morning that gave me such peace and hope was this verse:
The counter-intuitiveness of it all reminds me of one of my favorite stories. Of a little boy whose father was angry at him for running up the stairs because he was too young to know how to crawl back down. What the little boy did though was he simply stood up, and jumped off the stairs, straight into his dad's arms. That little boy jumped on faith. His dad was angry, would his dad really catch him? But the jump, and the subsequent catch, justified and confirmed his faith that his dad would catch him no matter what. And so the same, I've learned to jump on faith. The first few times are scary. You wonder if you're being foolish and ideal, but with each time when you don't fall, but instead are held and carried through each situation with blessings, it just confirms and strengthens the faith, and makes each jump easier.
There's still so much I have to learn though. I'm discovering within myself the struggle that comes with really believing in God's sovereignty and omnipotence. On one hand, there's the freedom and the hope that anything is possible with God, after all, He is God, and how great it is to know that with God, what we find miraculous or difficult to overcome, is easy for him to accomplish. But on the other hand, there's the fear and the anxiety that comes when I realize that I cannot do anything, that I am in some sense completely helpless, and that God is the only one who can do anything. I cannot make all situations go my way, I cannot always get what I want. And so I waver between the hope and freedom that comes with fully trusting in God, and the fear and worry that comes with not having things under my control at all.
But I believe this year will be an exciting one as I learn and grow and see what amazing things God has in store for me. And so I enter into this new year with two verses, the above that speaks of what God will do, and the below, of His ability to carry out what He says He will do.
It's the new year! And the first thing God told me this morning that gave me such peace and hope was this verse:
'Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.' Isaiah 43:192014 was filled with an equal amount of lows and highs but while I had entered 2014 with much hesitation, worry, and burdens, I am ushering in 2015 with so much joy, freedom, and anticipation for what God will do. 2014 served again as a reminder that no matter how helpless, how daunting, how terrible and confusing situations are, God works, and continues to work. It sounds so cliche, overused perhaps, but there's no other way I could describe it. I particularly liked this quote from my devotional one day in 'Utmost for His Highest':
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.I really am seeing God in every single detail, and with each additional detail that I see Him working in, the more I'm seeing the abundance of His blessings in all parts of my life. I believe much of life comes down to having the right perspective. From listening to my mom share about her experiences as she's going through her second fight with cancer, I've been blessed to learn that when we view things rightly and choose to, on faith, see and believe in the goodness of our God in all situations, more blessings will only follow, and what's more, when we on faith, choose to believe and view situations in light of the goodness of our God, we see but confirmation and affirmation of our faith, as counterintuitive as it may seem. But when we fall into the trap of negative thinking and not giving the benefit of the doubt, the only ones we hurt are ourselves.
The counter-intuitiveness of it all reminds me of one of my favorite stories. Of a little boy whose father was angry at him for running up the stairs because he was too young to know how to crawl back down. What the little boy did though was he simply stood up, and jumped off the stairs, straight into his dad's arms. That little boy jumped on faith. His dad was angry, would his dad really catch him? But the jump, and the subsequent catch, justified and confirmed his faith that his dad would catch him no matter what. And so the same, I've learned to jump on faith. The first few times are scary. You wonder if you're being foolish and ideal, but with each time when you don't fall, but instead are held and carried through each situation with blessings, it just confirms and strengthens the faith, and makes each jump easier.
There's still so much I have to learn though. I'm discovering within myself the struggle that comes with really believing in God's sovereignty and omnipotence. On one hand, there's the freedom and the hope that anything is possible with God, after all, He is God, and how great it is to know that with God, what we find miraculous or difficult to overcome, is easy for him to accomplish. But on the other hand, there's the fear and the anxiety that comes when I realize that I cannot do anything, that I am in some sense completely helpless, and that God is the only one who can do anything. I cannot make all situations go my way, I cannot always get what I want. And so I waver between the hope and freedom that comes with fully trusting in God, and the fear and worry that comes with not having things under my control at all.
But I believe this year will be an exciting one as I learn and grow and see what amazing things God has in store for me. And so I enter into this new year with two verses, the above that speaks of what God will do, and the below, of His ability to carry out what He says He will do.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)one of my favorite verses :)
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