Tag: trust

When the Rubber Meets the Road

By Emily Pollard

We’ve all heard the phrase, “When it rains, it pours.” While there are rare occasions that we might get to focus on a single responsibility or situation, most of our time is spent juggling several simultaneously. When one challenge arises, we expect a few more to come knocking. While this can be overwhelming (a feeling Satan just loves for us to have), these are the times in our life when we find out what we’re really made of. When it seems hardest to make a godly decision, when it seems impossible to know the right answer, when you don’t WANT to do the right thing, when the rubber meets the road, your response reveals the contents of your heart. Over the past few weeks, I have seen fellow Christians, young children, and total strangers whose lives have been turned upside down by tragedy, uncertainty, and harm. In moments like these, we must ask ourselves: When the rubber meets the road, who am I? In His word, God tells us how we can know who we truly are. The following questions paired with scripture help us answer this question for ourselves. 

>>When life gets hard what do I cling to for comfort? 

1. Read Numbers 13:25-14:4… After spying out the land of Canaan, fear turned the Israelites’ hearts back towards Egypt. They had finally set their eyes upon the promised land…but it wasn’t that simple. Canaan was filled with bigger, stronger men than the Israelites. Instead of marching forth in faith to overtake the land, the Israelites’ response was to retreat to their past lives in slavery to Egypt. When life gets hard, do I miss my past life without God?

2. Read Psalm 18:29-31…When David was surrounded by adversity, his gut reaction was to cry out to God. David relied solely on the power, perfection, and precepts of God to pull him through. When life gets hard, is turning to Him my gut reaction?

>>How much can my faith take? 

1.     Read Job 2:9…Job’s wife endured suffering and loss alongside Job, but her faith in God had its limits. Faithfulness to God wasn’t worth the pain. When our faith crumbles, our hope is lost along with it. Job’s wife allowed present sorrows to overshadow her trust in God. At what point does life shake my faith? How much can life dish out before my faith in God’s way and word weakens?

2.     Read Job 2:10…Job kept his faith, knowing that hardships are inevitable. God blesses, but He also disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:6-7).

>>Do I let my own life take away from the good I can do for others? 

1.     Read Phil. 2:3-11… Christ knew the pain, temptation, and ridicule that awaited, yet His heart was not consumed with His own grief. Pain was part of the process. The sole purpose of Jesus’ life was to offer healing, hope, and salvation to others. Our Savior’s earthly hardships never swayed Him from His Heavenly purpose. Do I allow my own stress and difficulties to distract me from lightening the burdens of others?

“Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil and let us see what we are made of.”

– Charles Spurgeon

Hallelujah

By Emily Pollard

Oh Lord, dear Lord,
Blessed Creator of all
Compared to Your might,
All quandaries seem small.

The billowing waves,
Though they toss me about
Are to you one raindrop
In the midst of a drought.

In the height of shadow,
In lowliness of heart,
You bring hope, joy, and strength
Before the trials depart.

You are there before,
During, and after the pain.
In the highest and lowest times,
I never cease to praise your name.

Overcome with power,
love, and grace You bestow.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
The only words my tongue now knows.

Oh Lord, dear Lord,
Now I see you face to face.
I bow down and thank you
For your mercy and your grace.

The sanctification process
Has led me to Your throne.
I am with You forever.
I am finally home.

For this, You and I labored
together many many years.
Now, here we are in eternity.
It was worth every tear.

Oh Lord, dear Lord
No number of praises
would ever be enough.
But eternity is long, and
I will spend it singing Hallelujah.

99436891_10222272332735370_7365906665402531840_n-2p

Wait for the Lord–a Bible-marking topic

By Kathy Pollard

Waiting is hard.  When you’re diligently praying for something and hoping for a quick answer, a delay can be a difficult and trying time.

-Waiting for test results

-Waiting for a Christian mate

-Waiting for a job change

-Waiting for wrongs to be made right

-Waiting for clarification/ answers/ knowing what to do

-Waiting for a heavy burden to be lifted

The advice given is usually something like:  Be patient.  Don’t run ahead of God.  You can trust Him.  He knows what’s best.  But when it’s been a long wait, you just sigh and say, “I know.”  And tap your foot.

This Bible-marking topic is for those times when you’re tired of waiting, and perhaps beginning to wonder if God even hears your prayers.  Be encouraged, friend.  God anticipated those moments and He has words for your heart.  

As you soak in the following Scriptures, keep in mind what the word “wait” means.  It does mean to be patient.  But it also includes an anticipation, a looking forward to something arriving or occurring.  It means to wait in place with expectation.  So the advice you’ve been given is biblical.  Don’t run ahead of God.  But also, don’t give up hope while you’re waiting.  In the front of your Bible, write:

Wait for the Lord- Psa. 25

None of those who wait for You will be ashamed…

Read through the entire psalm.  Circle all three occurrences of “wait for You/ wait” (v. 3,5,21).  Notice what David is asking for while he waits (v. 4-7) and what he is doing while he waits (v. 15).  Now go through and underline the qualities of God.  At the end of the psalm, write 27:14.

Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

This is another beautiful psalm written by David.  It shows his utter dependence upon God and his refusal to give up (v. 13).  Circle both occurrences of “wait for the Lord.”  Underline “be strong” and “take courage.”  Strengthen your soul with prayer, Bible study, and Christian fellowship.  God doesn’t want you to be discouraged.  He wants your heart to be filled with courage.  In the margin, write “(see also 31:24).” At the end of the verse, write 33:13-22.

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name.

Circle “waits for the Lord” (v.20).  Draw a square around “hope” (v. 18, 22).  “Hope” in these verses means “to wait, to hope for.”  In the margin next to “hope,” write “to wait.” Underline the phrases that show God still sees and cares:  “the Lord looks” (v. 13), “He sees” (v. 13), “He looks” (v. 14), “He who understands” (v. 15), and “the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him” (v. 18).  Squiggly underline “our heart rejoices…because we trust” (v. 21).  At the end of the psalm, write 40:1-3.

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

Circle “waited patiently for the Lord” (v. 1).  Underline what God did for David (“He inclined,” “heard my cry,” “brought me up,” etc.).  Squiggly underline “many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.”  In the margin next to that, write “Others are watching.”  When we wait patiently for the Lord, we are living out our faith and teaching others to trust in God!  At the end of the verse three, write 62:5-8.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.

Circle “wait in silence for God.”  Why do we wait for God only?  Draw squares around what He is:  “my hope” (v. 5), “my rock,” “my salvation,” “my stronghold” (v. 6), “my salvation,” “my glory,” “my strength,” “my refuge” (v 7).  Underline all of verse eight.  At the end of the verse, write 130:5.

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word do I hope.

Circle “wait for the Lord” and “wait.”  Underline “in His Word do I hope.”  What better way to spend waiting time than in drawing hope from the Word?  At the end of the verse, write Prov. 20:22.

Do not say, “I will repay evil;” wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

Circle “wait for the Lord.”  Underline “He will save you.”  Remember, He sees everything and knows all the details.  Don’t take matters into your own hands.  Wait for God to make it all right in the end.  At the end of the verse, write Isa. 40:31.

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

Circle “wait for the Lord.”  Underline all the beautiful promises for those who wait:  “gain new strength,” “mount up with wings,” “run and not get tired,” and “walk and not become weary.”  At the end of the verse, write Lam. 3:25.

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

Circle “wait for Him.”  Underline “the Lord is good.”  Notice what God wants us to do while we are waiting for Him.  At the end of the verse, write Micah 7:7.

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation.  My God will hear me.

Circle “wait for the God.”  Underline “my God will hear me.”  Blessed assurance! At the end of the verse, write Isa. 30:18.

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.  For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.

I know we’re backtracking but I wanted to end on this wonderful thought:  God waits for you, too!  Circle “He waits.”  Draw a square around “longs” and “long” and in the margin next to it write, “literally means ‘waits’.”  God waits for His people to trust in Him so He can bless them.  Remember His grace and compassion.  Remember His desire to take care of you.  

While you’re praying, “Please, God,” keep acting in ways that please God.  May the Lord bless you as you wait for Him. 

+5lW2duBQdejYdBF1WYDHw

Exhausted? Maybe It’s Time to Stop Running the Show

Any fellow control freaks out there?  With my sons growing up and going their own way, I’ve found myself struggling more with worry.  My nightly prayers are filled with urgent requests for God to guide and protect my sons.  Why the fear all of a sudden?  I think it’s because I no longer have control.  When the boys were little, I controlled everything…what they ate, when they went to bed, who their pals were.  Now I have to figure out how to let go and truly turn them over to God.  It dawns on me that I should’ve been doing more of that all along.

All this worrying is exhausting.

There’s the good kind of tired that comes from laboring for the Lord.  Then there’s the tired-of-it-all that comes from running ahead of the Lord.

Parenting isn’t the only area that’s effected by the need to control.  If my marriage gets rocky, I need to ask if I’m trying to lead or undermining my husband’s leadership.  If I’m frustrated with my church family, it’s time to do some personal soul searching.  Is my heart guilty of setting a standard for righteousness?  If I’m honest, I’ll recognize what’s at the root of the control problem:

  • Pride.  It gets in the way of acting wisely (Prov. 11:2).
  • Lack of trust.  It assumes that I’m the only one who can get it right (Prov. 26:12).
  • Either ignorance of God’s plan or ignoring God’s plan.  It takes the reigns from the One who knows best (Psa. 18:30).

When I’m overwrought with worry, I need to come down off my high horse.  I’m acting as if I’m in the one in charge of keeping order instead of God.  When I feel anxiety stealing my joy, it’s time to humble myself, let go through prayer, study God’s Word to learn His will, and trust.

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength…they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Google image
Google image