Faith

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the precious prayers you have lifted up on our behalf about our house selling! Tuesday morning I was petitioning the Lord (with prayer and tears) and reminding Him of what we “need” and of our pending timetable. {Of course, He does NOT need to be reminded… !} And I (almost) audibly heard Him say to me these words: “Do you trust Me?”

I quickly replied much like Peter did when Jesus asked him, “Do you love Me?”, and said, “Of course I trust You.” I heard Him ask me again… “Do you trust Me?” I thought about it for a moment and then replied, “Yes, Lord, You know that I trust You.” He asked one more time, “Do. you. trust. Me?”. I thought about how my actions were not matching my words, and with a broken heart, I humbly said, “Yes Lord, I do trust You. I do.”

And in that “Daddy tone” (you know the one I’m talking about… gentle, but firm, and said in a way that you know you better obey if you know what’s good for you…) in that tone He said, “Then act like it!”

Then I did what I do often when I need a physical reminder of something the Lord has called me to do… I wrote it on my hand.

Because I use my hands a lot when I talk, I see what’s written on my palm often.  I’ve done this many, many times.  [BTW: You know, Isaiah 49:16 tells us that God has imprinted US – you and me – on the palm of His hand.  “Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.”  Think of how often we are on His mind… since He’s omniscient, it’s all. the. time!]

Anyway, I started taking pictures to remind me of the crucial truths I carried around with me for a day or two.  Here are a few others from trials gone by:

A farmer who lived near London during World War II wrote to the Scripture Gift Mission requesting prayer that no bombs would fall on his small farm. He enclosed a five-shilling offering. He explained that his harvest had been awful, and he didn’t have enough money to bring in water for the parched crops. He could not afford another setback without losing his farm. The secretary of the mission wrote back and said he could not ask that his farm be spared but instead would pray that God’s will would be done.

Soon afterward the largest bomb in the German arsenal hit the man’s farm. The impact was so big that it unearthed a spring. The spring not only amply watered his farm, but also enabled him to share water with his neighbors. And the next year, he enjoyed an abundant harvest. He sent a fifty-pound check to the mission as a thanksgiving offering.

Thank God for unexpected blessings.

Lord, thank You for Your power to work for my good even in the worst of events. I trust You fully to take care of me. Amen.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

{Thank you, dear Janet, for sending this my way!!!}

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This past weekend, the children and I drove to Mississippi to see James, and my mom, and our new church for Mother’s Day.  (((For those of you who know me and my issues personally… did you catch the fact that the words “I” and “DROVE” and “to Mississippi” were in the same sentence?))) For the rest of you, my sweet online friends, there’s something I guess it’s time for you to know… I hate to drive.  That’s right. I said it. Hi. My name is Jennifer. And I hate to drive.  I have a terrible sense of direction, and am prone to the fear of wrecks, especially when turning left.  I will happily drive an entire block, if necessary, in order to avoid turning left.  On top of that, I avoid driving in the rain and the dark at all costs.  I prefer to drive only on nice, sunny, blue-sky-cloudless days.  I know… I have issues.

But… I missed my husband and my mom so I did what any good wife and daughter would do… I prayed a lot, packed the car, checked the kids out of school, and drove to MS.  Seriously – I’ve only done this twice before in my entire life.  It was a banner day. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and we had a wonderful trip.  All glory to the Lord and a lot of thanks to Gloria  – my GPS – who, besides Jesus, my salvation, James, my children and my family, was the best gift I’ve ever received!  (I love how she tells me when to change lanes, when to turn, when to exit, and when to continue on so many miles. Since I’m not really adventurous or independent, I don’t mind taking directions from her at all!)

We planned on staying through the weekend and returning on Monday.  But along with Monday morning, came rain.  As it passed through MS and into TN, it seemed that we would drive right along with the weather.  Kind of like the rain cloud that hovered over Eeyore.  Normally I would have considered staying at my Mom’s one more day.  But both children were arleady missing Monday’s school, and we needed to get Nathan back by 3pm for the 1st day of Sping Football practice… so I really didn’t have that choice.  On Monday, giving in to fear was not an option.

I’ve been doing battle with fear a lot lately, and by God’s strength and grace, I’m winning more often than losing these days!  So before I handed myself over to fear, I started quoting Philippians 4:13 and 2 Timothy 1:7 and praying for strength.  We ate our breakfast, packed up our car and were just about ready to leave when Abigail noticed that my front left tire looked a little low.  I never even think about noticing those things. 

My sweet mom called a local tire place and arranged for us to have it checked before we left town. What a blessing…because the tire had a nail in it.  We could have had a flat tire – in the rain – somewhere between there and here – and who knows what would have happened.  But we didn’t.  God miraculously went before us, revealed the need, and helped us take care of it.  When we stopped back by my moms before we left town, she hugged me and said, “See, God took care of you then, and He’s going to take care of you the whole way home.”  She was so right!

Actually, because of the tire incident and the often blinding rain, I felt closer to the Lord than I did while driving in the beautiful sunny weather.  Hmmm… sounds like a familiar life lesson…

As we were driving through Memphis, the rain was so blinding that I could hardly see the car in front of me.  The children were watching a movie (with headphones) and I had some soft worship music going, and was having an intimate time with the Lord when I noticed that many cars had pulled to the side to wait out the rain.  I asked the Lord what I should do, and I {almost audibly} heard Him say to me, “Keep pressing through.  Keep going.  Focus on what is in front of you.  Don’t try to pass anyone.  Just keep presssing through this storm.”

So that’s just what I did.  I drove.  I pressed through the blinding rain, focusing my eyes on the tail lights of the car in front of me, and kept going.  And as I was pressing through that literal storm, the Lord gave me a beautiful example of what He wants from me in the present circumstances of my own life.

Sometimes, God calls us to pull over and wait out the storm.  When we do that, we get to rest safely for a while until the weather clears enough for us to get back on the road.  Those are special seasons in our lives.

But sometimes, God calls us to press through the storm.  To keep on keeping on.  To NOT look around and be dismayed (Isa. 41:10), but to keep putting one foot in front of the other (or to keep one foot on the gas pedal, as in my case), and to keep moving forward.  The way may be slow and slippery, but if the Lord calls us to press on, He will help us keep going! 

Seasons of pressing on are just as special in the make up of our lives.  In fact, they may be more precious that the seasons of rest because these seasons of pressing on build something in us that seasons of rest just don’t give us.  They build Trust, Confidence in God, Practice in Obedience, a Sharp Eye, an Alert Mind, and a Desperation for the Help of the Lord.  We need Him, seek Him, and He is found by us.  He shows UP and shows OFF all He desires to do in and through us as we keep pressing on.

Since pressing through the storm on Monday, the strangest thing has happened… I’m driving around town with more confidence than I’ve ever had in my entire life.  I’m pulling out in traffic and actually turning left – and at night – and I’m doing it without that constant sick feeling in the pit of my stomach!   I’m even pulling into parking spaces with much more boldness and authority!  Can somebody give me an A men!?

I know that my driving “issues” may seem ridiculous to some to many ok… to most of you, but I hope you can see past the silly example to the truth of what I’m trying to say.  My family is in a season of pressing through the storm, not resting during it.  Many around us are in that same season.  You may be too.  And if you are, I want to encourage you to do what the Lord instructed me to do during a day that could have been filled with panic and fear: Keep pressing on!  Keep pressing through!  Keep going. Focus on what is in front of you. Don’t try to pass anyone. Just keep presssing through this storm!

In pressing through that storm, the Lord equipped me, strengthened me, and helped me conquer a group of fears that have held me back for way too long!  My family, friends, and I are all the better for it.  The same will be true for you.  If God calls you to Press On, you CAN do it!  You can do it with His Strength and Presence that strengthes you!  I know you can do it… because that’s just what His Word tells us.

Do you need to Press On today?  I’m praying for you right now, thanking God for His Strength and Victory He will pour over you as He leads you to press on…

“Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice.”  Isaiah 41:10 (Amp)

“I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me.”  Philippians 4:13