Getting All I Asked For

I am a very blessed woman. I know it. God hears my prayers (Luke 11:9- So I say to you ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. Psalm 11:9- I call on you Oh God for you will answer me, give ear to me and hear my prayer) You see, lately I've been known to be praying BIG things like asking God to be glorified through my life and to rely on Him with all my being and and all the while I can't really fathom what these prayers really mean until I am neck deep in the answer to them. THEN, I begin freaking out.



God is so faithful to answer our prayers. We all have the same assurances in Christ that the Father will hear our prayers. God has even answered prayers I prayed years ago, prayers I have forgotten I had even prayed only to have him remind me once again at some much later date that He had been faithful to me that whole time. He reminded me that whether I recalled those prayers or not He had been working the whole time, causing all things to work together for for my own good according to HIS plans, NOT in my timing or according to my own plans!! (Romans 8:28)



And so, sometimes, when God is going about His plans, plans I've asked Him to carry out in my life through prayer, things might begin to become uncomfortable for me. You see, the plans I usually make for myself tend to include a high level of personal comfort and a path of the least possible resistance. HIS plans can be a completely different ball of wax! Oh my weak flesh gets all in a tisy when situations head toward a path in His plan which doesn't look like what I'd plan, if I were Him.



Dustin and are learning to continuously turn everything over to the Lord. When I say everything I mean we desire to leave no corner of our hearts, souls, minds and even our possessions set aside for our own use. We truly want to serve and honor the LORD. We acknowledged that if the whole of life comes from the Lord than it ought, rightfully, be offered up to Him as followers of Christ. Our prayer is that we will be willing to go where He says go, do what He says to do, and say what He says to say. We prayer that nothing in this life would be more precious to us than living life with Him, and living it to the fullest of His intentions.



So, here we are. We are not on a ledge, but hanging WAY over it and all of a sudden we're wondering "what were we thinking?" It looks like doom is coming for us. We know that the assurances of things is a completely different matter than the appearances of things BUT We, in our humanness, are super uncomfortable relying on the Lord's provision and not our own strength. For good measure the Lord has even been so loving and so gracious as to remove all traces of our strength and has set in the forefront of our daily existence the very truth that without His provision for us we will be completely and utterly ruined. Again, an answer to a prayer for which I had not fathomed the practical consequences of.



So, What am I doing here? What's the point Jen?? Well, I think the point is that we are at a turning point here. We can either give into the temptation the evil one so desperately wants us to buy into, which is: You never heard form God, He doesn't require what you gave, You are much better off living life the old way, out of your comfortable self-absorbed and self consumed personal strength; OR we can choose to ask for God to strengthen our faith and reliance upon Him no matter how bleak things may grow to appear before His glory is revealed not just by His assurances but also by His appearance in the situations of our lives.



I believe God is good and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5) I trust He is loving and faithful and that He is actually working to answer all our prayers. Why should I worry what things look like, or about the methods He uses to accomplish His works and His will... because who can know and understand the mind of God? (Isaiah 55:8) If I believe all I say I believe, AND I DO, then I really can find calm in the midst of the storm and peace for my soul in Christ.



I know the personal things I've written about are a little vague on details and that many friends who've seen us might not have suspected that things were looking "bleak" over here. Sometimes isn't it the bleakness of our hearts and the negativity brewing in our souls which becomes the death of all our joy and vision? It's hard not to get caught up in circumstances of the appearances of life and still retain focus on the assurances of our faith. In fact, it's down right crippling!

I just want to say thank you to all my beloved and vital sisters who have served me a heaping serving of love and encouragement this week by praying for us. You have lifted us up more than you know. I love you all so much!