"None of us is so complete that we don't need anything from God. None of us has it all together".
This phrase was brought to my attention this past summer. I thought I had everything all figured out; my money, my relationship, my friendships and most importantly my relationship with God. He stopped me short and told me to "LET GO, stop trying to fix what I have planned to do differently." Like Stormie said, I needed to recognize that I "couldn't make anything happen, but had to surrender my life to Him and let Him make things happen." One night after church, I fell to my knees and did just that, tears and all. Ever since, my relationship with the Lord just keeps getting better and better; however I have not forgotten that I still have a long way to go and I am nowhere near perfect. Proverbs 19:21 says "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." God uses so many different and creative ways to show us this, but do we clear our mind, body and soul to be sensitive to His voice ?
Another point in this chapter that touched my heart was the fact that women all over the world desire to be that woman after God's own heart, the Proverbs 31 woman, but we are just so hard on ourselves. I for one am extremely hard on myself. Everyday I feel as though I dont do enough to glorify the Lord and there is so much better that I should do. Although there is always room for improvement, sometimes we need to stop and check ourselves and rather than point out the negatives, give yourself a pat on the back for getting this far. Positive feedback leads to more positive outcomes ! Some of us are just so quick to pinpoint the things we haven't done correctly that we forget to appreciate all the steps we took in the right direction.
The paragraph where Stormie tells us to cleanse our hearts by praying for exposure so that God may show us where are hearts really are and where He thinks we should be made me reanalyze the way I observe myself and I pray that I change that with time. The first start to change is being open; with God first and also with others who may be sharing the same problem. Its important that we "confess and repent" each and every night to prepare ourselves for the blessings God has planned for us. The little things we do that we may not think are important can be considered as sin. How many times have we doubted something would happen, knowing that with God all things are possible ? How many times have we been upset with a friend and discussed it with someone other than the one involved ? Doubt and gossip and many other every day things that we don't recognize are sin. Daily/Nightly cleansing is vital in order to progress in the Lord. I dont know about you, but I feel 10 times lighter when I just admit everything Ive done wrong, ask for God to show me things I didnt notice I did wrong and make an effort to not repeat them again.
This chapter to me was all about being open to God and asking for cleansing so that it may bring us closer to Him. But I also took it as a message to have an open heart to those around you as well. Share your past experiences to help others whether they be mistakes or positive things, there is always a lesson to learn from someone. I thank God for allowing Lety to create this book club and for each and every one of you in it. Never forget that if you've made it thus far, you are bound to do even greater things, be encouraged ! Have a wonderful weekend, love you all !
Benine M.
Just like you my dear I taught I had everything settled. I had to learn the hard way that its not complete untill God says it is. And also God does things in different ways. Definitely when one door shut another one opens .
ReplyDeleteJust like you my dear I taught I had everything settled. I had to learn the hard way that its not complete untill God says it is. And also God does things in different ways. Definitely when one door shut another one opens .
ReplyDeleteVraiment, I will keep the "give yourself a pat on the back for getting this far" in mind. Me on the other side, I never thought I had it all, I always felt like I could do better and I focused on the negative, rather than looking at how far I have become! It was to the point that I was wondering if it's even possible to reach that "deep, intimate, loving relationship with God." But I am learning that it's one step at the time, & looking back at where I was, to see how much I have progressed, really helps and it is very encouraging !
ReplyDeleteV :)