Category: Trust

Are You Willing to Let Go and Let God Do the Work?

Posted on by Evangeline

wait with confidence - let go and let God

 

Have you ever been able to really “let go and let God” do the work that only He can do in your life? Psalm 138 provides motivation to let God do the work– to allow Him to bring to fruition all the good that He planned for you. Here is that Scripture in its entirety:

1 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.

2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, [And] made me bold [with] strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth.

5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great [is] the glory of the LORD.

6 Though the LORD [is] on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.

8 The LORD will perfect [that which] concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, [endures] forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

 

Verse 8 is the particular verse I want to call your attention to. As you probably know by now, I enjoy reading various versions/translations of Scripture. Here are some other ways of stating verse 8:

The Lord will work out his plans for my life. (TLB)

Will you trust Him to do so, in His way and His timing?

Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now. (MSG)

Will you decide to not give up on His love for you?

Adonai will fulfill his purpose for me. Your grace, Adonai, continues forever. (CJB)

Will you choose to live enjoying His abundant grace every day?

You will do everything You have promised. (GNT)

Do you believe He’ll keep His promises for you?

Which version resonated with you? It’s clear that God wants to work on your behalf and to bring His promises to fruition in your life, no matter what the obstacles may currently be.

Believe His love. Allow Him to do what He does best.

Affirmations You Should Be Saying

Posted on by Evangeline

affirmations of trust

Affirmations are a powerful way to express trust.

Sometimes it’s hard to trust and be in agreement with the plans of someone else regarding the impact of their plans for YOUR life. If someone asked you whether you agree with whatever God has said and planned about your situation, what would be your response? Would you express sincere confidence in His plans for you? Your victory depends on trusting His Word and being in agreement with what He has said.

King David of the Bible can be our example of how to be in agreement with God. David, a man who so openly loved and trusted God, knew the power of speaking the Word of God. He said in Psalm 17:4,

“…By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.”

Similarly, affirmations that you speak should be crafted using Scripture.

Affirm the Word of God by speaking it into your life. Doing so will help keep you off of Satan’s paths that are lined with his burdens and devices of deception.  Most importantly, speaking the Word helps you to keep your eyes and mind on Jesus’ love for you. This enables you to agree with His plans and receive the victory over infertility or any other challenge you face.

Stay encouraged!

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sticky Note Thought #6- How to Trust God More

Posted on by Evangeline

Sometimes it’s hard to trust God.

Doubts stealthily move in and cloud our focus on His promises. Despair weaves its way into our thoughts. Our level of expectancy of receiving our desires from Him is almost nil.

When you find yourself in that position, what do you do?

Whenever I’ve been in that predicament,  this has been one of the best requests I’ve (repeatedly) ever made of God:

“Help me trust You.”

Who better than God Himself could give guidance about how to trust God more? He wants you to move to a higher level of trust in Him so that you can bask in the manifestation of His promises. He wants  His Word to speak to you and ease your weariness by showing you how to trust him more. He’ll never say no to you wanting more of Him–He loves you too much!

how to trust

 

 

 

Original image courtesy of Boykung | FreeDigitalPhotos

Monday’s Marinade – Decision Time

Posted on by Evangeline

Your marinade for this week presents a challenge— make a decision! There’s power to be gleaned from doing so! As you begin this week by “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God, make a decision to believe that God’s Word is true for you. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening! Let me know in the comments below what decision you choose to make about trusting what God has said in His Word about your situation.

Here’s your spiritual marinade about making a decision:

Monday's Marinade - Decision Time

Flowing in the Flow – An Update on October’s F-Word

Posted on by Evangeline
My "F-word" Rocks
My “F-word” Rocks

 

As October is coming to an end, being in the FLOW has brought challenges, victories and a few surprises.

The FLOW is what I consider as being in synch with the Holy Spirit.

Since I started this F-Word challenge in July 2014, I understand better how hearing from Him is a result of “Fellowship” with Him (1 Corinthians 1:9). Fellowshipping was sometimes (surprisingly) a challenge. There were other things that I wanted to do at the moment that my phone alarm beeped to remind to take a P.I.T. stop and focus on Jesus for (a mere) 60 seconds.

I see the resultant rest that comes from my “Focus” being on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). When I look to Him instead of the negative circumstances surrounding me, life is so much better! I’m less stressed. I see His acceptance of me; I’m more confident of it.  My words about my situation change because I trust Him more. I’m also more grateful.

My productivity has gotten better because of the “Follow Through” that I commit to His instructions (John 15:5). I released some things that I thought for sure I needed to do, but through Fellowship and Focus I was convinced otherwise. I found that I was enjoying doing the Follow Through because I knew that I was headed toward the target that He had set for me (rather than my own). I also found that I experienced more of God’s strength and power in all the “next steps” I needed to take.

My point is that I’m seeing how each of these steps in my F-Word process is tied to one another. And when I’m Fellowshipping with Jesus, Focused on His love for me, and Following Through on His plan for me, I get to FLOW with ease!

I think all of this is building up to make November FUN for me! 🙂

Delayed but not Denied

Posted on by Evangeline

The manifestation of a promise of God may be delayed but His Word tells us it is not denied (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Have you prayed for a child for a LOONNGG time? Do you feel like God is ignoring your request or is somehow holding back the one thing that you desire with all of your being? Today, I want to encourage you to not give up while you wait.

Take a look at the Bible’s account about the prophet Daniel and the delay he experienced in the manifestation of his requests to God (Daniel 10:1-12). Daniel was a man of boldness; he was not afraid to pray and trust in God, even when it was illegal for him to do so.  Daniel prayed earnestly—he had “set his heart,” that is, devoted himself, to this thing he was praying about.

The Scriptures give the account of how the prophet lamented for 21 days, not understanding why he had not yet heard from God. He mourned during that time, not eating, not anointing himself. Is it possible that the waiting had become a distraction to Daniel? Could it be that in the waiting his focus had changed from the faithfulness of God to the troublesome circumstances surrounding him? Not necessarily. There could be something else working behind the scenes to cause the delay in manifestation.

When God, When?

Do you sometimes wonder WHEN God’s promises will manifest in your life? Delays are a strategic tactic of the devil. It’s during the delays that he seeks to fill your mind with doubt. He wants you to ever so slowly lose your trust in God’s willingness to answer your prayer.  He wants you to become hopeless, thinking that having a baby will never happen for you. delayed but not denied

The devil wants you to believe that God’s promises of fertility are not true for you. He wants you distracted, stressed out, and anxious about your future rather than resting in knowing that God’s promises are true for you.

But, when you look up and see Jesus in the midst of your situation, you see more clearly that He is right there with you. He’s loving you and wanting to give you the desires of your heart. In Daniel’s case, when he looked up and saw God’s messenger, the messenger acknowledged, “I have come in response to your words” (Daniel 10:12 NASB). He said he had been dispatched to bring the answer as soon as God heard Daniel’s request.

What had caused the delay? It wasn’t anything that Daniel had done. It wasn’t anything God had done. Evil spiritual forces had interrupted the dispatch and caused the delay. Have you considered that spiritual forces are causing the delay in the manifestation of God’s promises in your life?  The delay is meant to make you give up, to become hopeless, and to no longer expect that God’s promises will come to pass in your life.

The manifestation of a promise of God may be delayed but His Word tells us it is not denied (2 Corinthians 1:20). Click To Tweet

How can you deal with this delay?

The best way is to continue to hold on to His promises by speaking them daily. Speak them with gratitude, as if they have already been granted to you. As you speak them, you build your faith (Romans 10:17). When you speak them, your mind stays focused on Jesus and His loving power instead of the turmoil of your circumstances. As you speak them, you’ll find it easier to let go of the problem and let God solve it.

It’s important to realize that God loves you. Then it’s easier to believe He has heard your prayer. And you’ll know that He wants His promises to manifest in your life. While you wait, it’s critical to trust in God’s faithfulness and to never give up on His promises.

The spiritual aspect of infertility always needs to be addressed. So remember, delayed does not mean denied when it comes to God’s promises. 

Helpful Scriptures for the Enduring the Delay

While you wait, here are some additional scriptures to consider, speak, and believe.

You are loved: John 17:23b ESV – that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.

God doesn’t withhold His goodness: Psalm 84:11 HNV– For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. The LORD will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

You’ve been made blameless; infertility is not a punishment: 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV– “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

Trust Him: Jeremiah 17:7 NLT– “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Mark 11:22-23 NIV – “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

God’s word is true and final: Psalm 119:89 NLT – Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. Matthew 24:35 NIV – Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

It’s a spiritual battle: Ephesians 6:12 NASB– “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”.

Where’s your focus while you wait—on your problem or on Jesus?

 

Trust or Doubt?

Posted on by Evangeline

TRUST. It’s something with which we all have issues.

Here are my notes from my time with God this morning. I hope you find them encouraging!

Doubt is the consequence of distance.

Doubt arises and increases when we have distanced ourselves from the Word. [Remember, Jesus IS the Word.]

Doubt infiltrates our mind and circumstances. It reduces our trust in God because we’ve been distracted from His promises.

Doubt is our automatic response when we don’t look to Jesus’ love for us.

 

Trust is the consequence of closeness.

Trust is the result of increasingly drawing nearer to God through His Word.

Trust infiltrates our mind and our circumstances. It erases doubt when we focus on Jesus, and are consistent in verbally  affirming God’s promises.

Trust is our automatic response when we continue looking to Jesus in the Word and acknowledging His love for us.

 

What do you do to be more aware of God’s love for you? Please share your ideas/strategies below.

 

Trust in God
Tulip photo courtesy of Fotolia

 

God Sends the Thread

Posted on by Evangeline

This poem was shared on the cover of our most recent family phone directory. It was written by my maternal grandmother, Annie McAlpine Brown. It’s an honor to share her words here. I hope they encourage you to trust God.

Grandmama's Poem

 

Rest vs. Work

Posted on by Evangeline

Valorie Burton's bookI recently received an email from business coach, Valorie Burton, that spoke to something that’s been on my heart for a while. Here’s an excerpt from her newsletter:

“While returning from a speaking engagement on an evening flight, the pilot announced that he expected we would land a few minutes early. Instead, as we approached, nearby thunderstorms changed the plan. For more than an hour – as daylight turned to evening – we circled.  At first, I found myself – like many of the passengers – feeling agitated. Then I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and enjoyed a few moments of rest.

I’ve noticed that so often in life, when we encounter a holding pattern, the natural reaction is one of frustration for having to wait. But a holding pattern serves a greater purpose – protecting you until the right conditions unfold that allow you to land at your destination safely. In our fast-paced world, we are tempted to believe that faster is always better. Sometimes, though, pushing for something to happen in the wrong timing can unnecessarily force you into a storm.”  (c) Copyright 2014 Valorie Burton and Inspire Inc.

Valorie encouraged her readers to “take a deep breath, trust God’s timing and calmly embrace the journey.”

I think that’s what God means when He says to rest in Him. He wants us to receive the lavish, unfailing love He has for us and then trust Him to workout whatever the challenge is that we may be facing. That can be hard to do but I have a feeling that it’s the best way to come out on the other side of that challenge with the results that are best for us.

In the Bible, Sarah did not initially trust God’s timing. She had spent years waiting for His promise of a son. In her impatience, she decided to have her husband, Abram, impregnate her maid, Hagar (Genesis 16). She chose not to rest in God’s love for her. She chose not to trust His promise and His timing. Her choice to not wait for the child of promise did not lead to the fulfillment of her hope for a child. What resulted from her “pushing for something to happen,” has been manifested as a centuries-long conflict between the Arab descendants of Ismael (the son of Hagar) and the Jewish descendants of Isaac (the son of Sarah).

So today I encourage you to actively seek that place of rest. Rest in knowing that Jesus finished the work on your behalf on the cross and He desires that you accept it to the fullest extent.

Trust His promises.

Trust His wisdom.

Trust that His effort is better than yours so you can relax and wait expectantly with patience and joy.

Why?

His love for you is unfailing, His timing is impeccable, and the presence of His power in the midst of your challenge will bring the desired results of victory (1 Corinthians 15:57).

14 Days of Love – Day 12

Posted on by Evangeline

Jesus’ love is worthy of our trust.


LOVE - 1Jn 4-16