Since the rain disrupted my plan this morning, I decided to spend a bit more time at home before heading out for for the day. I let the children watch a second episode of Backyardigans while I tackled the absolute mountain of clean laundry waiting to be put away. To pass the time, I decided to listen to a sermon from Buckhead Church I had downloaded. I am so blessed by Andy Stanley's words each time I have a chance to hear them, and today was no exception.
I have been pondering the issue of faith recently. I am type A. I like to have a plan, a schedule, a goal...but faith requires that I relinquish all that and simply trust. As I posted Monday night, the safety and security of my family is THE issue I have the hardest time truly releasing. It is foolish, really. I know I cannot keep my husband and children safe 24/7 for their lifetime. I must trust. But I have lived long enough to know that God will do what He wills to do...and while it will always ultimately be for good, it won't always be for my immediate good. Sometimes it will hurt. I know that and it frightens me. I know in the end we will be victorious for eternity, but I don't look forward to the pain of going through troubles one bit.
With all that in mind, I loved these quotes from Andy, "Faith is not about moving God to embrace our agendas. It is about being moved to embrace his agenda. As Jesus demonstrates for us, great faith is reflected in great surrender."
and this "Faith isn't about escaping the pain of life...Faith is simply waking up and saying, 'God, you're great and I trust You. My great faith is going to be manifested in this world as extraordinary and great surrender in Your direction.'"
So good.
There is no direct link to the specific sermon I am referencing, but if you are interested, start here. Scroll over to the Faith, Hope and Luck series. I am sure they are all great, but the specific one I am referencing is "All In."
9 comments:
Thank you for posting this. I am going through something right now that is really testing my faith. The hardest part is that it involves one of my children. Trusting Him with MY life seems much easier than watching my child go through something.
I have never commented before. We are at different points of parenthood - we have two teenagers, but I really enjoy your blog! ~Carol (I Throw Like a Girl)
That is so good, I am going to need to listen to that sermon. Thanks for sharing the info.
w
I have struggled with fear for the past two years now. More specifically a fear of dying. And being pregnant with number 4 has brought it all back out again-- what if I die and leave hubs here with 4 kids to raise on his own? I don't want to die! etc...etc...etc...
I just read a chapter yesterday in Joanna Weaver's book Having a Mary Heart in a Marth World about trusting God.
It really spoke to me -- as does the last quote you gave from Stanley.
But, I am with you-- as much as I want to, it is just so hard to give up control of things!
Blessings!
Mindy
I LOVE me some Andy Stanley. I'll be sure to click over there and download some of those sermons. They really do make housework go by faster.
Thanks for this post. Love the new look of your blog.
Beth Moore's "Believing God" Bible study radically changed my view of faith.
It's a belief that keeps on believing. And what do we believe? She summed it all up in five points. (I love these.)
God is who He says He is.
God will do what He says He will do.
I am who God says I am.
I can do all things through Christ.
God's word is alive and active in me.
I've been through the most agonizing days since I did that study. But I haven't come across anything that can't be "resolved" by returning to one of those statements.
Great post!
oh how I relate to that struggle - of letting go and trusting. I just finished an AMAZING book that I am going to go back and read again - The Shack by William P Young - it is an amazing book but it addresses this fear head on - I HIGHLY recommend the book if you get a chance to read it! Sunshine
The last week or so I have been studying what it means to fully surrender. I am type A too, and too often, I just find myself doing it my way, even though in my head I say I'm trusting God. I've been praying that He will show me where I haven't fully surrendered - and that He will give me grace to trust Him more.
"Faith isn't about escaping the pain of life...Faith is simply waking up and saying, 'God, you're great and I trust You. My great faith is going to be manifested in this world as extraordinary and great surrender in Your direction.'"
Wow - what an amazing quote. This has been a very real decision in my life lately, which, with God's help, I have been making daily.
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