Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7 (TNIV)
The world has a way of distracting you when you are on the path you are supposed to be on, when you're trying to do right. Whether you have been staying away from certain people, controlling your temper, getting your addictions in check or building up your faith. Something ALWAYS goes wrong. Why is that? Why is it that bad things happen to good people?
Well, I've figured it out. It took me a while, but I get it now. The reason why things tend to spin out of control while you are heading on the right path is because God wants to know where your trust lies. Just like a person on an airplane in serious turbulence or a person convicted of a crime and doing time for more than a few days, we tend to find God when we are in trouble. I was no different. Then I learned that although God wants us to call out to Him in times of trouble, He would more rather have us call out to him, in praise, when things are going well. It would be more genuine and God is not a fool, He knows our hearts. We can't trick Him by seeking Him only when it suits us... no wonder things go wrong.
Everything, good and bad, that happens in our lives is allowed through God. There is nothing that occurs under the sun that God doesn't know about or hasn't allowed. Does that make God a mean God? No, it makes God a good God if we allow him to make it right after the bad happens. He will give us double for our trouble, even though, more times that not, the bad that happens is based on our choices. But when the bad that happens seems random, understand that it needed to happen to create the path that was necessary for you. So what about the mother's that lose their babies at birth or the parents that are killed in a car accident leaving children behind or the natural disasters that come along and wipe out a good chunk of the population? What is the good in those events? They are devastating, no doubt. But I realize now that there are lessons and purpose behind everything, if we just takes the time to listen to God and stay in his presence to figure it out.
God wants us to lean and depend solely on Him. He created us and we belong to Him. But once we are able to 'do for ourselves' all of a sudden its like 'God who?' unless we are in trouble. What I'm learning is that God wants us to rely on Him in EVERY area of our life, good or bad. So, if we are having money troubles, trust in Him. If we are having relationship problems, trust in Him. If we are having personal, emotional, self-control issues, trust in Him. And when we are doing well, praise Him.
But what does it mean to trust in Him? It sounds and feels strange to trust in someone you can't even see. Well, I been practicing and I think that God is purposely stripping away people and things in my life that I have depended on to help me realize that I can be sustained on Him alone. I doesn't feel good, but He hasn't let me down yet (and I don't believe He will), and its getting easier and more enjoyable as the days go by. Trusting in Him, for me, is simply saying to God 'I don't know what you're doing, I don't know why this is happening, but I'm going to trust in You.' And I leave it there. Before, when I first started saying that, I would say it, then automatically I would start trying to figure out how to fix my own problem by either working it out in my brain, calling someone to vent to or taking matters into my own hand without even stopping to think. And I will tell you, every time, I ended up worse off and ended up submitting to God anyway. And you know what's funny? Even though at first glance it seems as though we can't see God, the truth of the matter is He is everywhere, in everything we do. We just have to open our eyes.
Sometimes He watches us mess up so bad, in our own free will, only to open His arms to us and hold us while we cry. All the while He is just wanting us to trust in Him. We can't do anything in our own strength. Anything that we 'think' we are accomplishing or striving in, God should be given the glory because he has given us the breath in our bodies, the skills, mind and strength to do all things. So why do we cut Him out? Why are we using Him for the things that only make sense to us? Well, I'm learning to trust and lean on Him for things that don't make sense to me (or the people around me for that matter). I'm going to test God and His Word. I can't truly say 'God is faithful' unless I lean completely on Him. Just like I can't say my car is faithful if I keep taking the bus in fear that my car might break down. I have decided to lean on God with everything I've got.
Submission is Power because it teaches us to control a situation with wisdom, discipline, obedience and grace. It doesn't matter who I work for, who birthed me, who I'm related to or who I'm married to... I trust God. He is the only one who is forever faithful and the only one who I can fully depend on. He has never let me down, never steered me wrong and never stopped loving me. Don't fall into the world's way of thinking that submission is a sign of weakness. By trusting God and submitting to Him I am learning to be a better mother, a better wife and a better daughter. Submission proves that you are able to govern yourself, your emotions and the chaos around you, with grace, as you trust in God.
Be Blessed in BEING SUBMISSIVE!
4-6You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what He gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble." 7-10So let God work His will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and He'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet. - James 4:6-8 (The Message)
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. For what You have done I will always praise You in the presence of Your faithful people. And I will hope in Your name, for Your name is good. - Psalms 52:8b-9 (NIV)
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