For one woman it was her difficulty getting excited about her teenaged child's hobby...something she has little interest in, but her child seems to have found a niche. She hadn't planned to spend so many years on the sidelines of this.
Another is dealing with sadness over an adult child's lifestyle. Not because it is sinful, it is just different. This is not what I had planned.
Their thoughts and feelings are representative of those many of us share. We thought we would be somewhere else. Maybe it is your marital status, your fertility, your health, your vocation or your location. This is not how I thought things would be.
It might not even be something you specifically are experiencing...but someone you love is suffering an addiction, an illness, a tough time. God, where are you? Why must they hurt? Isn't there another way?
Yesterday morning in Sunday School we were discussing Jerry Bridge's book, Trusting God Even When Life Hurts. As we specifically considered all the Bible has to say about the Sovereignty of God, these two old favorites from Proverbs were mentioned.
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Many are the plans of a man's heart, but the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
Such amazing truth, but it was the next passage that really struck me.
Consider what God has done; who can straighten what he has made crooked? Ecclesiastes 7:13
This passage implies that in His Sovereignty, God himself has made some things crooked. I thought of something we observed on the way to Young Life camp last weekend. As we drove up the mountain ridge, winding through the dense hardwood forest, I couldn't help but notice that some tree trunks were tall and straight---reaching directly up towards the heavens. Others, however, were twisted and gnarly. They were clearly the products of years of fighting for survival--reaching for the sun any which way they could find it. Yet, they were beautiful in their uniqueness. Could it be that this was their intended design?
Scripture makes it clear. God is completely sovereign, infinite in wisdom and perfect in love. He is a loving father--our creator--author of our life story. He is worthy of our trust.
"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me" Psalm 138:8
Sometimes it may involve a crooked path.
The pathway is broken and the signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why you brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I will go through the valley if You want me to
Now I'm not who I was when I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to You
I will go through the fire If You want me to
It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my own
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'll never go alone
-If You Want Me To, Ginny Owens
13 comments:
if I wasn't a Christian I would call it almost "spooky" but since I am I am calling it providential that you posted this today. I am amazed at God's timing. thanks for the post, it was encouraging and needed!
I too needed this post today. I cannot remember how I found your blog months ago, but perhaps it was for your writing over the past two days. If you get a chance, would you send me an email at e.quesenberry@gmail.com. I would like to ask for your permission to possibly link to this post.
This met me e-zactly where I am. How do you do that? :) Thank you, thank you...
{P.S. I am forever grateful that Miss Amy Beth sent me your way}
In a time when we're making decisions we never thought we'd have to make, I needed this word today.
Thank you.
Such a great reminder to me-- esp the part about GROWN children deviating from MY plan! For some reason that hit me like a lightning bolt, as if it never occurred to me that my children might not follow the exact plan I have for them! Grown children seems SO FAR from now....
Love the verse:
"Consider what God has done; who can straighten what he has made crooked?" Ecclesiastes 7:13
May not be perfect by our human standards, but HE MADE IT CROOKED ON PURPOSE. Love that.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you. THANK YOU...for that post. The LORD will fulfill HIS purpose... I pray you sense Him closely today, and I'm praying the same for me as well.
Love, Taylor
Ditto on loving the Ecclesiastes verse. We were apparently on the same wavelength yesterday, as I was reminiscing about the crazy road my husband and I traveled to get to where we are now. God gave us that same Ginny Owens song at the beginning of our relationship, and we held tightly to it through all of God's "twisting" and "bending" - none of it being what we had planned for our lives. But His plan is so much more perfect than what either of us ever dreamed!!!
Hold on to the hope, sisters, that what God began in us He will carry on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ (when we will be made perfectly ONE with him!)!!! ~Phillipians 1:6
I'm reading that book right now. It's alot to think about. I'm still amazed that the God who hung the stars cares about me enough to 'straighten or crooked' my path.
Hurting and in tears when I read your blog - once again just what I needed. God is SO good.
Thanks for your post...just reinforcing some things I am learning in Sunday School as our class is doing Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins. I am learning that God's agenda is not always my agenda.
Beautiful. My best friend's mom had unexpected triple-bypass surgery this morning, amidst los of financial difficulties for their family. I'm going to print off this page to share with her. Please pray for the words to sink in deeply -- she is not a Christ follower.
Thank you . . .
Nancy
And I feel like I'm just beginning to see the "straight" road ahead. I've been on a crooked one for too long now, constantly beating myself up over poor choices and a not so healthy life style. I've been so tired of the guilt and this was uplifting to read! Maybe my wayward life DOES have a purpose. Those mistakes are what's going to continue to make me a better person now.
Thanks Jenn- I catch up with your blog at least once a week and so many times you reach right into my heart and give me hope, challenge my mind and make me want to be a better person.
Beautiful, sister, just beuatiful! Oh the wonders of our great and glorious Father.
May He bless you richly today as you serve your household.
Post a Comment