A friend of mine posted this note of encouragement on facebook, and permitted me to share it here. No matter what kind of trial you are facing, may you trust in His Word, as your sure foundation. And if you're not facing anything tumultuous, perhaps someone around you is and you can encourage them on the journey.
"God loves you so much that he will not allow you to become stagnant in your faith and spiritual walk. When you go through difficult times, he is not necessarily "testing" you, but drawing you closer to Himself, so you will realize that you need him MORE than you need the security of your daily life.
The security we find in this life is only temporary; a tornado could blow your house apart, or drought might make food scarce, but with God, you have security in everything, forever. Because He is taking care of you. He owns everything in the world, and remember, Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find.
But if you are asking God for security in this life, like enough money to keep your house, or some extra food in the freezer over winter, he might have a completely different plan than you; he might mean for your family to move across country in the next year in order to grow yourself closer to Him.
"No," I respond to your thoughts. "Change is not evil!" It is not something to stamp your foot at and cross your arms and mumble under your breath because God wants to grow you into something new and bold and strong in faith, and you just don't see it being possible.
He is in the business of doing miracles, and for Him, nothing is impossible. He sees you at the end of your life as a bold and strong woman of faith, just as much as he sees you as the tiny baby you were, unable to do anything for yourself. He brought you through a lot of changes in life, and he still plans to bring you through many more to grow you to be more like Jesus. He's not going to just let you remain a spiritual baby; he is going to allow change in order to grow your soul outside of the confines that you were born with.
"I'm too shy," you say. "I don't know what to do!"
But God does.
Like the potter with the clay, he needs to take this lump of unformed soul and mold it into a magnificent vase for holding flowers in. Never mind that you are an unformed lump of clay; God is forming you into something better. Just allow him to mold you rather than fighting against him and trying to get off the potter's wheel. Humble yourself to his caring hand.
He knows exactly which trials you need to go through in order to grow into a mature and shining woman.
If you don't know what to do in order to submit to God's changes, try prayer:
Oh God, I'm overwhelmed with the changes in my life, and I'm scared about what the future will hold. I don't know what to do. Help me to trust in you completely. My faith is in you, not in money or posessions, and I need your comfort, and to have you right next to me so I can survive through these difficult times. Please grow me into what you want me to be, and help me to know it's you bringing me through this."
Add your in your own thoughts, stir in a few raisins and some shredded carrot, and bake it at 350ยบ for about 20 to 30 minutes, and voila! Carrot cake!
Matthew 6: 24-27 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"
I have more of my own thoughts on this subject, but it's late so I'll share them another day when I can think clearer...nighty, night.
