How much will you trust Him?

 

1987 was the year of upheaval. Conflict, confusion, and loss came my way as a result of choices I made that I will charitably say were ‘unwise.’ I was forced out of a good position. We sold our home, moved to a new community, and started over, so it seemed. A lot of ‘friends’ that knew the details of the situation not so kindly told me that I was getting what I deserved and with time I came to understand that did reap the harvest of my sins. I held onto my faith and trusted God to sort out the tangled mess I’d made of life. 

I learned about my God through that awful time – that He restores and that He can use the painful, the terrible, the awful to accomplish His will.  I found a new relationship with my family, learned a deeper faith, and discovered a kind of humility I had not known before.  Most important, the grace and mercy of God became more than words to me in my realization that even in my foolish and sinful choices, He never wrote me off.  Though I could not see it at that time I know now that the Lord of Love took what looked like great loss and made it an opportunity to give me His BEST.

Are you going through a difficult situation?
Have you made some stupid, regrettable decisions?
Are you ready to believe that you are being judged, abandoned by God because of what you have done?

I can assure you that He will never forsake you and will show you His love again if you will give yourself to Him in truly humble and child-like faith.

Jeremiah watched Nebuchadnezzar’s armies destroy the nation of Judah and wreck the holy Temple. The old preacher, called ‘the weeping prophet’ knew that the sins of the people had brought them to this awful moment. Was all lost forever?  The answer came in a vision. He ‘saw’ two baskets of figs placed at the gates of the Temple in Jerusalem. One contained very good figs, the other worthless rotted figs! The, the Spirit gave him the meaning of his vision. “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. ... I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. ... But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt." (Jeremiah 24:5,7-8, NIV) God said that because of the faith they would display, the exiles would find new hearts and restored faith.

If you are struggling with guilt, broken by wrong choices, or in a time of confusion make the choice of  those exiles of long ago and ‘return to Him with all your heart.’  Trust God to take the situations that you have created, that mess brought about by your sins or the sins of others and turn them around for your ultimate good. He can do it!

Joseph’s brothers hated him so much they sold him into slavery in Egypt. They thought they were rid of him forever. Years later, when they appeared in an Egyptian palace to beg for food, their brother Joseph was sitting on the throne, a changed man. He told them - "Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now-life for many people." (Genesis 50:20, The Message)

And this, too!  IF you are tempted to judge another Christian whose life has fallen apart, if you are standing back thinking they are getting what they deserve, stop it.  You are not God.  Do you think you know enough about the state of his heart to judge him like that? Jesus’ disciples saw a man blind from birth and jumped to a similar conclusion. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” - John 9:1-3 (NIV) God had a greater purpose for that man than being born with perfect sight! That might not seem fair to us, given our limited insight, but then we are not God, are we?

Here’s the word from the Word. It’s only possible to live this way if we fully trust Him, becoming participants in ‘the Divine Conspiracy’ to make known the kingdom of God. But we can defeat evil becoming, through the Christ and the Spirit, people who are transforming into saints - even now! Please don’t read these words as advice just to ‘grin and bear it!’ Read them for all they are worth. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4, NIV)  Trust God.

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Graves Into Gardens

I searched the world but it couldn't fill me

Man's empty praise and treasures that fade

Are never enough

Then You came along and put me back together

And every desire is now satisfied here in Your love

 

Oh there's nothing better than You

There's nothing better than You

Lord there's nothing

Nothing is better than You

 

I'm not afraid to show You my weakness

My failures and flaws

Lord You've seen them all

And You still call me friend

 

'Cause the God of the mountain

Is the God of the valley

And there's not a place

Your mercy and grace won't find me again

 

You turn mourning to dancing

You give beauty for ashes

You turn shame into glory

You're the only one who can

 

You turn graves into gardens

You turn bones into armies

You turn seas into highways

You're the only one who can

 

Brandon Lake | Chris Brown | Steven Furtick | Tiffany Hudson

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Maverick City Publishing Worldwide (Admin. by Heritage Worship Publishing)

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