Learning

One of the things I have been doing during my time off from the church is some self-study and personal reflection on God, my relationship with Him, and my life. God has been really faithful to teach me and show me things through His Word and through a couple of books that I have been reading.

God has repeatedly told me to wait on Him. I, like so many others, want solutions now. I have spent many days anxious and stressed-out and wondering why God is not resolving the struggles in my marriage now. Through my anxiety, God has taught me:

• To rest in His peace during the storm. This is a choice I must constantly make. I am concentrating on His peace in my mind and in my conversations with Him, myself (yes, I talk to myself), and others. And, when I feel that anxiety building - whether self-induced or from others - I claim the peace He has given me that transcends all understanding. My lack of peace usually means I have moved back into the "fix it" mode instead of God fixing it. Peace is resting in Him.
  
• God has a plan. What I see unfolding around me is not the plan I could have ever anticipated. Most of it makes no sense to me. But isn't that usually how God works? What we think is right or best is not the way He sees it because He sees everything from His eternal perspective. I look at this suffering and can't make sense of it. But, God's Word tells me that He uses suffering to make His children more like Him. I can accept that. I do not understand it all. But I can accept it and choose to rejoice in it. "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." 1 Peter 5:10
• It is okay to let go of my circumstances. Like a child who is first learning to walk, it is okay for me to let go of what I think I can and should do and walk by faith. God has been teaching me to trust Him more and myself less. My mind tells me that I have to figure everything out and come up with the solution or there will not be one. In fact, I often think that if I don't figure it all out, I am failing in some way. God never said to figure it all out in our power. He said to trust Him and to follow Him in obedience and righteousness. The answer is already there. He already has it figured out. It's cliche but true: I must "let go and let God." I will wait on Him to reveal His answers.
  

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Here's a resource I recommend for you if you too are facing some difficult circumstances in your life. It's called "Advancing through Adversity" by Charles Stanley. It's a self-study book that has been incredibly helpful to me over the past few weeks as I have sought understanding of God's purposes and plans during this trial. It's really good.

Thanks for continuing to stop by and for your prayers. God bless.