Tag Archives: love

Let His grace be enough for today

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Are you trying to do it all on your own? I think you know what I’m talking about here. You think that if you keep trying to make things happen your way, eventually they will.

I’ve been through the cycle over and over. I pray for God to meet a need, and then I wait. Nothing happens. So I pray a little more. Still nothing happens. My thoughts go something like this: “OK God… come on. I’ve prayed, I’ve been faithful and now I’m getting really bored. What am I supposed to do? Actually you know what? Since you’re not really moving in this situation, let me see what I can do about it myself. I’ll handle this.”

And whether consciously or not, I proceed to try and change the situation myself. Oh, how I try. For a while, it actually seems to work. “Yes!” I think. Things are happening. But then you know what happens? They fall apart, just like they always do. And there I am again, on my knees because I wondered how I ever thought I could possibly do this on my own.

Admittedly, I probably try again at least a few more times myself. I fail again. God is probably shaking His head at this point. And I don’t know exactly when or how, but there comes a point where I surrender it all to God, because I just can’t do it. Once I realize how well He can take care of me and meet every need in exactly the right timing, it’s a beautiful surrender at the feet of Jesus.

I’m still not there yet. I haven’t gotten to where I feel I should be in life. But apparently, I am exactly where God feels I need to be. He’ll direct my steps and get me to the right place at the right time.

It’s really all about letting His grace be enough for us in this moment, and in every moment. His grace is all we need, which is why I love the following verse.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. -2 Corinthians 12:9

Don’t get so impatient that you forget that the Lord is working in your situation at this very moment, even though it’s not always visible. For now, let His grace guide you through whatever you are facing. He will always be faithful.

Joy is a choice

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It is. God gives us joy, but we have to choose to receive it.

You can choose to become consumed by your circumstances and wallow in them – looking primarily at the here and the now – or you can choose to look up to God, showing gratitude for all He’s done in your life and trusting that he is in control. That’s real joy.

Joy is so much deeper than happiness. It’s not circumstantial. Happiness will come in your life, certainly, but it’ll also fade. Notice how you can be on a cloud one day and down in a ditch the next?

Joy isn’t like that. It never fades. We can have it regardless of our circumstances. It comes from God and it lives deep within us. It’s an outcome of our relationship with the Lord, and it can give us strength to get through whatever we’re facing.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy,and with my song I praise him. -Psalm 28:7

One of my own tendencies is to allow others to control my joy. If they do something that makes me unhappy, frustrated or leaves me otherwise unsatisfied, I’m ready to throw the towel in. Ever been there?

But as Joyce Meyer says, “My joy is not someone else’s responsibility. It’s my responsibility!”

You have to consistently choose not to let others drag you down. Because believe me, if you let them, they will.

When you depend on God, though, and believe He’s going to provide for your needs, it’s a lot easier to live in joy.

You can choose to live joyfully, allowing God to direct your heart, or you can live in fear. It’s your own choice. But here’s the thing: You’re going to have to face your current situation regardless of what you decide.

For me, joy usually starts with being thankful for what God has already given me. He has provided so much, yet I find myself continually looking at what I don’t have and what I still need. But when I focus on everything He’s done in my life so far, I’m just overwhelmed with thankfulness, and that leads to joy.

Joy also begins with letting go of things I can’t control. This happened to me recently. I have been holding on to something so tightly – something that I want to be within my control, but it isn’t. I’ve been praying about it every day. And I don’t know how it happened, but one day I just woke up and wondered what would happen if I decided to give it to God, be happy and quit worrying about it.

Can I just say, wow. I changed my attitude and God did the rest. He has given me so much joy and peace about it ever since.

It’s not that the situation has gotten any easier. Nothing has changed around me. It’s just I have one less burden because I know my God can handle it much better than I ever could. The change happened in my heart, and it was all because I chose to let go and let God work. When we just trust him, he gives us unexplainable joy.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. -1 Peter 1:8

What is it you need to lay at the feet of Jesus? He can give you joy beyond your circumstances. And he will, if you just pray to Him and trust that He’s got you in the palm of His hand.

What are you waiting for?

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Something came to your mind instantly, didn’t it? And I’m not surprised, because if we’re honest with ourselves, we’re all seeking something beyond our current circumstances.

When you spend a long time praying for something and it still doesn’t happen or come about for months or even years, you start to wonder if it ever will. You start to – dare I say it – doubt God. Maybe only a tiny bit. Even though you trust Him with your whole heart, maybe you feel that He’s forgotten about you.

Everyone around you seems to be getting more than their dose of happiness in life, but you’re still [insert your situation here].

What are you asking God for?

Like you, I have waited for things. Have I ever waited for them. It’s painful to realize that you have no control over your situation and there’s not much you can do to speed things up. But it’s also beautiful when you come to learn God does have control, and that the ultimate resolution He will bring about is so much better than anything we could have planned.

Looking back on some of my own past circumstances, God didn’t answer every prayer exactly the way I asked Him to.  Most of the time, He came through in a way I couldn’t have imagined, but rarely in my own time frame. His was much better.

Take my current job. It’s amazing and I love it, but if it had been up to me, I would have taken a job I interviewed for (but was not offered) several months prior. That was before the position at my current company was even posted, but God was already one step ahead!

Like a parent, God knows best, and he wants to give us the best. That is, if we’ll wait. But if we trudge ahead, insisting we do it our own way and refuse to wait on the Lord, we can’t have His best. We just have our own “best,” which, from my own experience, isn’t very good.

Suffering shapes us

You know, we’re not promised a life without suffering. But there is hope.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” -Romans 5:3-5

It’s so encouraging to know that in waiting on the Lord for something, it’s not a punishment from God. It’s exactly the opposite – He’s disciplining us so that we may become the man or woman He desires us to be.

And when you finally get something you’ve waited so long for, isn’t it just that much better?

I want to end this post with a verse that’s gotten me through a tough season of discouragement over the last few months, and I hope it lifts your spirits as well.

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. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. -1 Peter 5:10

I don’t know long a little while is, for me or for you, but it’s not forever.

So whatever you’re waiting on, remember God hasn’t forgotten about you. He loves you. And in His timing, He will bring about His best in your life.